


Salvaged Hope

by Dearieforever



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-26
Updated: 2017-05-09
Packaged: 2018-09-12 10:05:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 21
Words: 27,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9067090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dearieforever/pseuds/Dearieforever
Summary: While watching the show, a viewer can no longer stand seeing her favorite character in such pain.  Her desire to help becomes strong enough to pull her into the show, giving her the chance to help Rumplestiltskin find his infant son Gideon.  Can she earn his trust, find  way to help him, and somehow reunite him and Belle? If so, what will be the price she must pay?





	1. Crossing worlds

It had been a long, hard day at work, and I had missed my favorite show. Or, what used to be my favorite show. Ever since the writers had decided to ruin my favorite character's life, the only reason I watched anymore was to hope somehow this disaster would be reversed. There had to be some hope for Rumplestiltskin. This show was about hope! Why did his life have to continue to be miserable? 

I knew this week the episode would be focused on him. The previews showed the birth of the baby, the son he already loved, and had to dread losing thanks to Belle. She had made far more mistakes than he had, and yet she blamed him for everything. Maybe this week would show them get back together. Maybe they would be happy raising their baby. I logged onto my laptop, ready to download the missed episode. Hope rose, then quickly faded.

From the start, things went from bad to worse. I couldn't believe Belle was actually willing to use squid ink on her husband. I cheered when I saw it didn't work, and felt my heart shatter when he said he believed it was impossible for anyone to love him when he was with Belle in the elevator. I admit it, I am way too emotionally involved in this show and this character, but the tears came when I learned even his mother abandoned him. Every single person he'd ever hoped for love from was either dead or had turned on him, and she hadn't even bothered to give him a name. To top it off, everyone kept throwing in his face that Baelfire was dead.

It was just too much when Rumple walked in to where Belle had given birth. I didn't know how I knew, but I knew he didn't speed up that pregnancy. I knew he would never harm a child, especially his own. The final straw was when he asked to know the baby's name, and she refused to tell him. She wouldn't even give the heartbroken man that much! All he wanted was his son's name. I couldn't stand it anymore. The look in his eyes, the tone of his voice, all he'd been through. It wasn't the first time I'd shouted at a TV program, but this time something inside me just snapped. 

“His name is Gideon!” I screamed as loud as I could, wishing he could hear me as I slammed my fist on the keyboard. My eyes were closed in frustration, and I felt rather than saw the sparks from the laptop. When I opened my eyes, I was no longer in my living room, and I was surrounded by people definitely not from my world. Most of them just stared. Belle let out a gasped “No!” and I knew they'd heard me. Rumple crossed the room, grabbing me by the shoulders as if grabbing a weapon. There was a desperate, half crazed light in his eyes. He was a man grasping at any slight thread of hope left. But I couldn't see him as dangerous.

“Say that again!” he half ordered, half pleaded. 

Emma tried using magic, but with a wave of his hand Rumple easily blocked the spell.

“Now, Dearie. Say my son's name again.”

Probably a lot of people would have been terrified. I looked him in the eyes, my heart racing. I should have been panicking about being in a different world. I should have freaked that I had no way home, and not one friend in this world. It was insane. It was equally insane that Rumple was looking to me for help. He didn't ask how I was there, or who I was or how I knew what I did. He was desperate. He wanted an answer. I gave it. I didn't care that by siding with him, I would automatically lose every other friend I might have had in Storybrooke, and would probably never gain Rumple's trust enough for him to help me get home, if anyone could. I didn't care that most people would have been at least a little afraid of someone with the title “Dark One.” I didn't care about anything accept that I had the chance to do something I always wanted to do. I could help him.

“Gideon,” I repeated, starting the craziest adventure I'd ever been on, and changing the course of my life. “Belle named your son Gideon.”


	2. Making enemies

“Gideon,” Rumple repeated the name, slowly, like he was savoring the knowledge. There was a reverence to it, like he was saying the name of a saint. I nodded. 

“After the hero of her favorite book.”

“And how do you know this?” His tone was full of doubt, not that I blamed him. I'd just appeared in his world out of nowhere. If the same thing had happened to me, especially if I had his trust issues, I wouldn't be too quick to believe anything either.

“It's like how you and everyone in Storybrooke came from the world of a book,” I tried to explain. “Only in my world, you're all part of a television program. As far as I can tell, the writers make things happen here. It's the same as Henry being the Author, I think. That's all I know. I don't even know how I ended up here.”

“But you know where my son is? Where Gideon is?” He asked, his words weighted down with so much longing. I hated to shake my head, but there was nothing else I could do.

“I wish I did. I swear I would tell you. All I know is Belle told the Blue Fairy to take him someplace safe.” At that I turned angrily to Belle. “How could you send Gideon away? How could you cause someone you claimed to love that kind of pain? And with a fairy? You know he doesn't trust fairies! You know his past! You know how it hurt him to lose-” I didn't know how much to say, so I finished my rant with “to lose everything.” I had to stop myself from going on, or I might have ended up making Rumple extremely angry at me. No matter what, he still loved Belle. He always would.

“It's the Crocodile's own bloody fault he lost everything!” Hook was quick to take a stand against his old enemy. “I don't know who the hell you are or why you're willing to help him, but side with a villain, an you'll find yourself facing all of us.”

Everyone except Rumple was obviously seeing me as some kind of threat. Weird. There was nothing I could do to any of them anyway. I had no magic, and I had absolutely no fighting skills. If Emma and Hook tried anything, I wouldn't last a second. I briefly imagined Rumple defending me, but why should he do anything for me? I'd told him his son's name, but could offer no help beyond that. And everyone he'd trusted before had betrayed him. 

“I don't care. And who are you to call him a villain?” I demanded. “You have a past yourself. You too,” I added to Emma and Belle. Not even counting all the pain she'd caused Rumple, Belle had abandoned Anna. “I could spend hours going into that, but what matters now is that you don't keep Gideon from him.” During all this, Rumple had just been looking at me is disbelief, and suspicion. There was just the slightest hope in his eyes, but I wondered if by defending him this much I'd ruined his belief in me. No one had ever done this kind of thing.

“Never!” Belle said in a cutting tone. “I don't care what he or anyone else does to me. I will never let him near that baby.”

Rumple was near tears and sounded choked as he said “I would never hurt you Belle. Never.”

Belle clearly didn't believe him. That was the problem, she didn't believe him about anything. 

“Belle, you remember when everyone thought he killed Archie to frame Regina? You stood up for him once.”

“That was before he sped up my pregnancy and was going to use those sheers to change my child's fate.”

“His child too!” I said immediately. “And what did you tell him when Robin stole from him?” It was hard bring up Robin, a good man killed because of Zelena's stupidity, and who had suffered because of her cruelty, but I needed to make a point. “You told him he isn't the kind of man to separate a father and son. What you're doing now is everything you ever accused him of.” 

“I have to protect Gideon,” Belle defended herself, but she looked like she'd been slapped.

“You have to believe your husband. What makes you so sure this is his fault? In case you haven't noticed, there are real villains on the loose.”

Suddenly I realized how badly I was not helping, and I knew what they were thinking. Rumple had been using the Evil Queen. He had almost planned to use the aging potion and the sheers. He'd taken back the power of the Dark One. I didn't blame him. I knew his reasons, but no one was going to believe him. No one except me. By now everyone was more confused by me than concerned about me. I probably sounded like some insane raving loonatic. Emma and Hook looked at each other and seemed to share the same thought.

“Anybody else a little concerned that she appeared out of bloody nowhere, seems to know every detail of our lives, and the first thing she does is defend the Crocodile?”

The two lovebirds were about to make a move, and even Belle looked ready to get out of bed and face me, but Rumple snapped his fingers, and we disappeared in a cloud of red smoke. Again, maybe I should have been worried, but at the moment I couldn't help thinking how incredible it was actually seeing Rumple use magic. The next thing I knew, we were in the pawnshop. Stupid as it seems, I couldn't help fangirling. I was actually in THE pawnshop! With Rumple! It took just a moment to get my mind back on what was happening rather than where I was. Rumple was glaring at me. 

“I'd like the answers to a few questions myself, Dearie. To start with, who you are and why exactly you are helping me.”

How was I going to be of any use to him if he wouldn't- couldn't- trust me? And what answers could I give that he would believe?


	3. Learning to Trust

“I told you, I just ended up here. I don't know how. I'm no one special. My name is-” I don't know why, but I made up a name. Somehow using my real name seemed wrong. I had no reason to lie to him, but for some reason my real name couldn't seem to be spoken “Lindsay.”

“No, it's not.”

Oh right. Expert on names. He might not know a name if not told, but he could pick out a fake name, and remember the name of everyone he ever met.

“You're right, but somehow, I just can't seem to give my real name. I don't even know why. Can we just go with that for now? I swear that's the only lie I'll tell you.”

Luckily, he seemed to accept that.

“Very well- Lindsay. Now, answer my second question. Why are you helping me? No one does anything for Rumplestiltskin without wanting something in return. What is it you want me to do for you?”

“Nothing.” His eyes showed there was no way he was believing that. “Look, in my world, you have more than a few fans. I happen to be one of them. However I ended up here, now that I'm in Storybrooke, if I can help you, I will.” 

He gave a bitter almost chuckle. Someone else might have realized they were dangerously close to losing any believability.

“You expect me to believe in your world, whatever kind of show you claim I'm part of, I'm some sort of hero?”

“It's- it's not that simple,” I admitted. “You're shown being- well- dark, but it's like you said. There is no separating light and dark. The man can't exist without the Beast.”

Not good. Not good. His eyes widened, and I knew he was angry. He wasn't upset at what I'd said, but he was upset at how much I knew.

“This show of yours appears to not allow for any privacy. What else have you seen?”

How could I answer that? 

“Enough,” I answered sadly. “I saw- I saw what happened with Milah when she left you. I saw you abandoned by your father and what happened with your mo- with the Black Fairy.” Did he even think of her as his mother? I didn't think of the man who'd sired me as my father. “I saw how excited you were to be called to war, to have a chance at being a hero, and how you left for your son. By the way, that took way more guts than fighting in a stupid war there was no chance of winning. I saw you become the Dark One. I saw how- how you were separated from Bae, when you were reunited, what happened in Neverland, and how you sacrificed yourself for the whole town. I saw how you-” I nearly choked. “How you gave up your sanity trying to save Bae, how you lost him- I'm so, so sorry about that- and just about everything after. There were flashbacks showing you and Cora, and a lot with Belle too.”

He sat down hard, looking exhausted. 

“That means you've seen the worst of me too. No one would help someone who's done what I have. So why don't you just be honest, and tell me what your real game is?”

“I AM being honest,” I insisted. “And as far as I'm concerned the wrong that you've done is nothing compared to what the so called heroes have. You've been the Dark One for centuries, and you died to save everyone. The pirate was a dark one for what, a day or two in Storybrooke before he tried whiping out the whole town! Right now you have the powers and maybe the darkness of every Dark One who ever was, and you still made your choices out of love. And I'm not the only one who feels that way.”

That was when I realized something.

“When you took the Seer's power, your minds connected didn't they? I know it's hard for you to trust, but you can trust me. Maybe if you see my thoughts, you'll know that.”

His eyebrows raised skeptically.

“You would trust me to do that?”

I nodded. I did trust him. I'd seen him kill. I knew he had major trust issues. I knew he was as close to all powerful as a man could be. But I didn't believe he'd hurt me. How had that worked again? Oh yeah. I held out my hands, palms up. Rumple took them. 

I wasn't sure what to expect I'd feel. His hands themselves were a bit callused. No doubt that came from the friction of straw passing through them as he spun it into gold. Those hands could rip out a heart and crush it, but they could also heal a wound, cast a protection charm, magic up a necklace for Belle, or lovingly hold a baby. I felt the magic pass through me. It felt like I was being electrocuted, but I wasn't in pain. I felt memories come without me trying to think of them. Memories of typing defenses of him online, and grieving for his pain along with my fellow Dearies. 

He could see how many there were. He could see the groups online dedicated to him, videos of him on youtube. He could see me scrolling through websites reading fanfictions and poetry dedicated to him. There were memories of setting on the couch watching the show, laughing like a maniac when he turned Gaston into a rose, and feeling like my heart would stop when I thought he was gone forever, and tears on my face when he lost Bae. 

Every memory of the show flowed through my mind, and then more memories came. There were memories of my family, of my own father, of wishing I could have a father like Rumple instead of who I'd ended up with through some chance or fate or whatever there was. Rumple dropped my hands as soon as those memories came. He wasn't going to invade my private thoughts, but I could tell he'd seen glimpses beyond the show. His eyes showed recognition. We could understand each other's pain at that level. 

“I don't know what I can do, but I'm on your side,” I told him. His eyes no longer held suspicion. They held warmth and gratitude. We were both overwhelmed. This was the first time anyone besides Bae had really, truly been there for him without expecting him to change or wanting anything in return. And I was overwhelmed that I got to be the one to give him that.

“Thank you,” he said simply. Then he sighed, I knew what he must be thinking. Someone was on his side, but that didn't get his son back yet.

“We'll find Gideon.”

I saw determination come back to his eyes. It was wonderful.

“If it takes another three hundred years,” he agreed.


	4. Learn to like yourself

This wouldn't be simple. In the Enchanted Forrest, it would be easy to summon the Blue Fairy just by wishing on a star. Somehow it didn't seem like the same rules applied now. Rumple still had the globe that worked with blood magic, but he explained fairy magic could block that. There was extreme contempt in his voice at the word “fairy.” After one had abandoned him, and another refused to give him a magic bean to follow his son, it was no wonder.

I sadly thought how much better everything would be if Belle would just remember how much she used to love him, and think of how much he loved her. They'd been through too much to lose that love, but Belle simply wasn't Belle anymore. Magic couldn't make anyone fall in love, or bring back the dead, so there was no magical way to make her love him again or bring back Bae. I remembered those rules ever since I watched Aladdin as a kid and the Genie first came out of-

“The lamp!” I shouted. 

“The lamp?” Rumple looked at me thoughtfully. “That would be useful if I still had it and if there was still a genie inside.”

I felt the grin spread over my face. “Aladdin is a genie now. The episode I was watching when I came to this world showed him put on the cuffs and be pulled into the lamp. Jasmine has the lamp. It didn't show her make a wish yet. She was going to wish to go to Agrabah, but if she's still in Storybrooke-”

“We can wish ourselves to Gideon.” He finished the thought. Hope was on his face. Then I saw sorrow and doubt take over again.

“What's wrong? I know we have to get the lamp back first, but it's doable. Even if Jasmine has left Storybrooke, we know where she's going. You have the wand, so getting to Agrabah won't be hard if they are there already.”

“Finding Gideon is only the first problem.” 

“Well squid ink will stun the Blue Fairy so-” I stopped at the look on his face. I understood. “Believe me, what that vision in the dream world showed, that doesn't make sense. A baby is born innocent. Gideon isn't even able to think in those terms yet. If he is, the sleeping spell must have been messed with him. Zelena gave it to Belle, so who knows what she did? Or what if the real Morpheus has a secret plan? He's a god after all, and you know what Hades was like. Even if that was really Gideon, you have time to show him you're a loving father.”

“I had time with Bae too, and I threw away my chance.”

I remembered watching the Desperate Souls episode with my mother, and saying how I wished I could give Rumple a comforting hug. She'd looked at me then like I was crazy, although she'd come to like him later. I still wished I could give him that hug, but I didn't know how he'd take it. Instead I put a hand on his shoulder. 

“Bae loved you. You made a mistake, but you dedicated your life to making up for it. He realized that. He knew you always sacrificed everything for him. Gideon will see that too. You can earn his love.”

“And if I fail?” 

I remembered how sadly he'd asked Belle that.

“Then you try again,”I said quietly. “You'll still make mistakes with him, I can guarantee that because everyone makes mistakes. No one can be perfect, no matter how much they try their best. All you can do is keep showing him that you love him.” I hoped I was saying the right thing as I continued. “You saw how you're loved by a lot of people in my world, but you have to love yourself too,” I thought of a quote I'd always liked from the old version of The Nutty Professor. “You may as well like yourself. Just think of all the time you're going to spend with you. You need to give yourself a fair chance before anyone else can.”

Somehow that brought a half smile to his face. He had a long road ahead before he'd learn to feel real self worth, but he was taking small steps in the right direction.

“Let's find that lamp, Dearie” he finally said.


	5. The Wish

The plan was simple, but brilliant. I spent all the rest of that day in disguise, courtesy of Rumple using a glamour charm on me. I posed as different people at different times. Gretyl, Grace, Ariel, Ashley, all people who didn't seem to be all that much a part of main events in Storybrooke and who wouldn't draw attention. I was able to find out Jasmine would finish out the week in Storybrooke before going back to Agrabah. Then the real plan went into affect.

Rumple would make sure Snow arrived late to school. She would have a series of minor disasters in the morning. There would be no running water for her shower, a fuse would blow so she'd have no electricity for cooking breakfast, her car wouldn't start, that sort of thing. Her phone also wouldn't work so she couldn't call school. I, meanwhile, would be disguised as her and take her place. Jasmine trusted her, and I was fairly sure Snow could talk Jasmine into letting her use the lamp. 

I walked into the school, knowing anyone looking at me would see Snow, but I was a bit worried about my acting skills. I'd done well in drama class back in college, and I'd seen every episode of Once, so I knew exactly how Snow acted. At least, I hoped I knew enough to be convincing as her. Spotting Jasmine, I ran up to her. She actually looked happy to see me.

“Jasmine I think I've found out how to break the curse on David and I!” 

“That's wonderful!” Jasmine said brightly. “How?”

I frowned, figuring Snow would feel guilty about this. To be honest I did feel a little guilty using Aladdin. I'd watched that movie a million times as a kid. He was one of my favorite Disney heroes. But this was for a good cause. I couldn't say it bothered me too much. 

“I- I hate to ask, but Aladdin's a genie now and he can grant any wish so I thought-” 

Jasmine caught on, and didn't seem bothered. 

“Aladdin won't mind granting that wish. I can wish him awake right now.”

Not what we needed.

“Actually, I was hoping you'd let me take the lamp home? I want to be there when he wakes up.” I worked up some tears. “And would you mind taking over the class today? I just haven't had any real time with him in so long.”

“I understand completely.”

I beamed.

“Thank you! I didn't know how long I could keep this up. The leaving notes and recording videos but never really being able to be with him- Now that we can actually be together-”

“Of course.” Jasmine hugged me. She handed me the lamp. Wow this was going easier than I thought. I briefly imagined some dark, ominous music playing since I was tricking her. Maybe this did mark me as a villain, but I didn't believe for a second helping Rumple find his son would darken my heart. If taking the lamp made me a villain, I didn't want to be a hero. For good measure I added

“Come meet Charming and I for a celebration tonight at Granny's? I'll bring the lamp back then, and I want to give you a bit of a party before you and Aladdin go home.”

She nodded.

“Great. See you there at seven, ok?” 

It was as simple as that, and I slipped the lamp in the purse I carried. The heroes really, really needed to learn to be more careful with magical objects. I had to fight the urge to run, remembering that would look suspicious. I moved quicker than a walk, but I kept a bright, overjoyed smile on my face looking like I just couldn't wait to get home and use the lamp. Well, that much was true, just not in the way Jasmine thought. 

Rumple was waiting a short distance away, just far enough so no one would connect him to the school. He was ready to go. He had the dagger hidden on him, and he had a good supply of squid ink in his pockets for stunning Blue if she tried to stop us. Eventually Snow and Jasmine would talk, but by then Rumple and I would be long gone. He looked like he couldn't wait another moment.

“You have it then?” he asked as he removed the glamour charm. I grinned, and took the lamp out of the purse. I'd never seen anyone look so ready to celebrate. He held out his hands for the lamp. That was when I realized- I had to be the one to make the wish, not him. There would be a price. I knew Rumple would pay anything to get Gideon back, but he'd paid enough. I'd pay for this. 

“Wait!” I told him. He looked confused, as if doubting my intentions. Maybe he thought I was betraying him, taking the wishes for myself. Had I chosen to I could have been a hero then, wishing him powerless or in a cage again or some other horrible thing. It sickened me to think one of the heroes might actually make such a wish. “I have to do this.” I rubbed the lamp before he could answer. I'd explain later. Something told me Rumple wouldn't want me taking on the price, even if he believed that was why I wouldn't let him make the wish. Aladdin appeared in a cloud of yellow smoke.

“Aladdin,” I said determinedly. “You won't like this, but I need your help to right a wrong. And that's why I wish for you to instantly take Rumplestiltskin and myself to where his son Gideon is.” 

Aladdin looked horrified. I didn't know what he'd been told about Rumple, but the wish would be granted. Yellow smoke surrounded us, and we faded away from where we stood., reappearing in a different place a moment later.


	6. Father and son

We were inside a very fairy- tale looking cottage. Blue was setting next to the cradle, the book in her hand. She looked up the second we entered, looking at Rumple as if he was the very devil himself come to take Gideon and torture him. She got to her feet, ready to cast a spell, but Rumple was quicker, dousing her with the squid ink. Annoyingly, it left her still able to talk.

“I promised Belle I wouldn't let you hurt that baby!”

“Good,” I said. 'You can rest easy telling her Rumple would never hurt a child. While you're at it find out who actually did speed up her pregnancy.”

Rumple's whole focus was on Gideon. I'd heard the phrase “like a blind man seeing the sun for the first time.” That didn't begin to describe it. It was like a combination of that and someone suddenly seeing a holy vision. The baby looked back at him, and Rumple reached forward to him. That was when the baby let out a long, fearful wail and Rumple stepped back as if he' been stabbed. That didn't make sense. No baby should react like that, and then something clicked.

“Rumple he doesn't hate you! He's under a spell. When Blue took him, I saw her use magic on him. There was this cloud of blue glitter that surrounded him.” I described it exactly as I could so Rumple could know exactly what magic was used.

“A preservation spell, to hold some other spell in place.” he glared at Blue, at I could tell he was a blink away from her being pixie dust. “So either she cast the first spell to make him hate me, or else she sensed it was already on him and did her best to preserve it.”

That was when another, very sinister voice answered.

“Very clever of you, son.” 

The Black Fairy had been creepy on the show. In person, she would have had me shaking in fear if I hadn't hated her so much. I stepped between her and Rumple and Gideon. Pointless, I know. Rumple had magic. I was an easy target. But at the moment I was thinking I would be one more obstacle between her and them. She laughed. 

“Have a new little pet then, son? She's sweet.”

“You leave her out of this,” he said in a dangerous tone. He was defending me. All I'd done was help him get the lamp. But then again, who else besides Bae would have helped him. He threw the remaining squid ink at her, but even paralyzed she still smirked that evil grin. She wanted to taunt him.

“You know, I needn't have bothered putting that spell on him, getting him to ask that Belle leave him so I could track him wherever Blue took him. You'll abandon him sooner or later anyway. Just like you did Baelfire. Haven't you realized now abandoning children runs in the family?”

Dead Black Fairy! Very dead Black Fairy! I snapped before Rumple did, and launched myself at her, knocking her over. I hit every bit of her I could, wondering just how much pain I could cause her. She looked shocked. I don't think she'd ever expected a mere human could do much, which I couldn't have if she hadn't been stunned. I slammed her head against the floor before I remembered the squid ink wouldn't hold her long. Blue would be free of it in a moment too. Rumple and I had to get out of there. He'd grabbed Gideon, and was looking at me like he'd never seen anything like me before. I grabbed the book, remembering Gideon had asked for it. Rumple used the wand to open the portal to get us out of there so we wouldn't have to use another wish. I saw him send a blasting spell in his mother's direction as I stepped through, but I didn't see the result. 

We ended up back in Storybrooke. I didn't want Jasmine and Aladdin separated forever, and I doubted we'd be coming back here. I used another wish to make sure Aladdin would forget he'd ever seen us once we were gone. And the last to make him an ordinary man again. Even freed, the heroes might have used his magic to follow Rumple and Gideon, wherever they were going. Rumple would keep the lamp, just to be extra safe.

Rumple and I went back to his shop, where he set about lifting the spell on Gideon. With a wave of his hand, the magic was lifted away from Gideon, but was still strangely connected to him. Rumple carefully ran the dagger through it. Oh right. The dagger could cut through fairy magic. Once that was cut, there was a flash of magic.

“The spell on him was only supposed to last until shortly after birth, if my guess is right,” Rumple explained. “If the Blue Fairy hadn't cast her spell, it would have lifted on it's own.” He was fighting not to shake. “I might have guessed. Where there's injustice-”

“There's always a fairy,” I finished the line. I could definitely see why Rumple hated them. At least now it was over. The spell was lifted. Now, Gideon looked at his father curiously. Rumple lifted him as if he were as delicate as the chipped cup. Now, Gideon would never fear him again. Instead, he reached up, and stroked his father's face. That was when Rumple and I both broke down in tears.


	7. The Price

There was nothing left for Storybrooke to offer Rumple or I. I knew he'd love Belle until his last breath, and considering unless someone murdered him with the dagger he'd live forever, that was saying something. But now she'd never let him have Gideon, and if it was a choice between her or his son- well, as much as he loved her, there really wasn't a choice. She'd crossed an unforgivable line when she'd sent that baby away.

“Where will you go?” I asked. Somehow I knew this was goodbye. Rumple had his son. I wasn't needed anymore.

“For now, back to the Enchanted Forrest, back to the castle. Without the lamp, wand, or a magic bean the others won't be able to follow. Even if they do find a way, I have enough protective wards in place that they won't reach us. Not even the Black Fairy, if she survived, will be able to locate it once I'm done.”

I nodded. It was what I expected. He and Gideon could make a life there, just the two of them. At this point it was the closest to a happy ending Rumple could hope for.

“I supposes it's time to send you home now,” he added. He sounded sad about it.

“Yes, I suppose it is.” I despised the man who'd supplied half my chromosomes, but I loved my mother. My brother had been there for me when I needed him, and he was going to be married soon. I couldn't wait to see his wedding. My best friend for the past twenty years was my sister in all but blood. I couldn't leave those three, as much as I would have loved staying with Rumple. 

“I wish you'd let me do something for you before you leave. If it wasn't for you, I would never have gotten to Gideon before the Black Fairy took him. I don't even want to know what she'd have done to him.”

I shook my head.

“I wasn't trying to make any deals, Rumple.” I liked calling him that. It felt better than calling him Mr. Gold. “I'm just glad it worked out and Gideon is safe with you.”

He looked at me sadly. “Thank you again. For everything.”

He lifted the wand, ready to open the portal.

“Oh Rumple, one last thing. Don't ever let anyone call you a coward or a villain. I don't know what their definition of coward or villain is, but most people would agree cowards and villains don't sacrifice their lives for their loved ones. Cowards don't face bears for their wife or lame themselves to be there for their son. And villains don't help people who've betrayed them again and again. Whatever they think of you, you're better than that.”

His voice caught as he answered “I'll try to remember that, Dearie.” 

I looked one last time at the baby. 

“Bye Gideon. Be good for your Papa, OK?” He gurgled adorably. I knew he'd have a great life.

Rumple opened the portal, and I prepared to step through. I wondered what would it be like watching the show from then on? Would the heroes just keep looking for them? Would Rumple and Belle finally get back together? I doubted that, and at this point I didn't want them too. .I supposed from then on I'd just have to watch the show and see. I approached the portal- and was thrown back hard as it closed. Rumple picked me up, and the room spun for a bit. 

“Are you all right?”

I nodded. 

“I'm sorry. I don't know what went wrong.”

“I know. It's not your fault. It's-” I should have known all along. I'd crossed a realm to come here. That must have meant I used some kind of magic, even without casting a spell. The price was I couldn't go back. I'd made a wish that had reunited Rumple with his son. The price was I'd never see my family again. “It's the price. No magic will change it.”

Rumple's mouth opened in shock.

“You knew! You knew when you wouldn't let me touch that lamp until it didn't have a genie anymore. You knew magic always comes with a price, and you chose to pay it.”

“Yeah,” I admitted. I felt somehow hollow. Never. I would never see them again. “I didn't know exactly what the price would be, but I knew there would be one.”

“Why?” He was astounded. “Why would you do that? I would have paid. I would have paid anything to get Gideon back. “

“I know,” I choked out. “But you've already paid enough. You've lost too much. You shouldn't have to pay to get your own son back.” 

The tears started, and he pulled me to him. I don't know how long I cried, but I cried until there were no tears left. He just held me, stroking my hair and whispering words of comfort. This was the real Rumplestiltskin. Family man, comforter, and protector. I didn't pull away until I stopped shaking. I felt like I was being a baby, but he didn't mind.

“You need a home now,” he said gently. He reminded me of when he'd asked the Evil Queen if Belle needed a home, so concerned. “If- if you like I'll arrange for one in the Enchanted Forrest or Arendelle or even Camelot, wherever you choose to go. But- if you want a home with Gideon and I, you'll have one for as long as you want one.”

I managed a smile.

“I'd like that.”


	8. Never Trust a Fairy

I remembered Robin saying not much was left at the Dark Castle. Looters had made off with almost anything not nailed down, and a few things that were. Ordinarily, one of the best ways to make Rumple angry, other than being a certain pirate or hurting someone he loved, was to steal from him. But there had been so many thieves over the years and the castle had been emptied for so long that it wasn't worth the trouble. Besides, he had more important things to worry about. Gideon needed the essentials at least to start with. 

Rumple started conjuring. He'd been raised in poverty, but he had also grown up generous, probably as a result. I'd never forget him tipping the bellboy in New York with a hundred dollar bill while he was still trying to get Belle out of the box. Nothing was too good for the baby. Rumple also had expensive taste in both clothes and furnishings. By the time he was done with the room now designated as the nursery, it resembled a cross between the Lullabye Shop and Babies R Us, except medevil style. Instead of looking “dark,” it looked like what you'd expect in a true royal castle centuries ago. It was amazing, with no toy, decoration, or piece of furniture overlooked. 

The cradle and crib would have been useful, if Gideon didn't always sleep in Rumple's arms. By the end of the first week anyone would have thought father and son were permanently attached. It was obvious Rumple loved Gideon more than anything, but it was also obvious he was desperate to be loved back. It was a good thing Dark Ones didn't need sleep. I knew Rumple could drain energy from magic to stay awake, but he had to be reaching his absolute limit, especially with all he'd conjured. It wasn't just a question of holding and material things either. I don't think Gideon ever got out a full cry before his father was seeing to whatever he needed.

It was endearing and touching to watch. No one watching now would ever think of calling him a bad father. However, it was also nerve racking. This wasn't enjoying fatherhood. This was desperately trying to ensure his son loved him.

“I think you need a break,” I finally told him. He shook his head firmly.

“Gideon needs to know I'm here for him.”

“He knows. You haven't been out of his sight for more than five seconds since the first time you held him. Look, I know you didn't get to be there for his birth, but I think both of you need some breathing space now. I know you don't need sleep often, but I know you do need to sometimes. If you won't sleep, spin. You can even do that in the same room, but take a break from trying to prove to him that you're a loving father. It will be fine. You're not doing him any favors by wearing yourself out” If I hadn't already helped him, I might have had to face his temper for using that tone with him. As it was, he looked irritated. 

It was the next day before he did spin for awhile, putting Gideon in the crib. He started increasing the intervals slightly, eventually letting the baby spend the night in the crib. Slowly, he was realizing Gideon wasn't going to disapear the second he took his eyes off him, and finally the night came when Rumple allowed himself some badly needed sleep. Gideon learned too that his father was never too far away to hear him cry, and that he never needed to worry that something he needed wouldn't be taken care of. 

When we first arrived, Rumple looked like the scaley greenish gold version of him I'd first seen in the pilot episode, just like Archie changed back to Jiminy Cricket when he'd been brought back to this world after Pan was defeated. Rumple had changed his appearance to the more normal looking version of himself immediately, probably out of fear of scaring Gideon. It wouldn't have mattered , The two became more inseparable by the day, and there was no question Gideon loved his father as much as his father loved him. 

At first I was a little worried about how far into darkness Rumple would slide, now that he was back in the Enchanted Forrest. Magic was much stronger here, or at least I figured it must be, so I wondered how much stronger the curse would affect him. I didn't worry long. Having Bae had helped keep the darkness back as long as he'd had him. Having Gideon did the job as well. I wasn't sure how much I affected, but Rumple seemed glad to have me around.

Rumple's devotion to Gideon didn't mean I was forgotten. Rumple made sure my room was as comfortable as possible, with a big soft bed. My clothes were soft and although stylish for that world, not elaborate. I was glad of that. I would never have felt comfortable dressed like a princess. I had the run of the castle, except for the room that had been Belle's and the library. Those were locked, as well as the part of the attic that contained Bae's childhood things. Thieves hadn't been able to get into those places. Rumple never went near those rooms. He loved Gideon, but one son would not replace another, and he would always love Belle. 

Knowing what it was to lose a love one, Rumple gave me a gift soon after we arrived, an ornate pearl handled mirror decorated with jeweled roses. He told me that it would show me anything I asked, and I nearly laughed at one more Beauty and the Beast tie in. I was able to see my mother, brother, and sister in bond, as well as members of the family I wasn't close to. I could see that they were happy, but they didn't seem to realize I'd ever existed. One more price of the magic? If so, I was glad. They wouldn't be missing me or wondering where I was.

I asked Rumple about it one day, and he confirmed my theory. 

“I think you stopped belonging to that world the moment you arrived here,” he told me. “That's probably why you can't say your real name. In effect, that person is gone.”

I still felt like me and remembered my old life, but I couldn't come up with any other explanation. Soon, I started feeling better about my situation. The people I loved were all right. It was hard not being with them, but it wasn't like they were dead. They were just far away.

I'd toured castles before, and said that as beautiful as the were, they could never feel like a home. That was turning out to not be true here. I was a little more at ease all the time, and started taking part in reading to Gideon every night, and having talks with Rumple as he spun or as we had supper. I loved watching him spin. Being familiar with things made the place feel like home, and the hum of the wheel at night became a comforting sound. It turned out Rumple was a night owl. I remembered he said he did his best thinking at night, but I also remembered he'd said watching the wheel helped him forget. Soon I started staying up later and watching him more, trying to forget too. 

Gideon would have been enough to bring happiness to any home. With the spell to make him hate his father gone, he was free to develop normally. Time must have passed quicker than either Rumple or I realized, because soon he was crawling. He would crawl right over to the spinning wheel, and hold up his arms for Rumple to lift him. Seeing Rumple's reaction, a person would have thought it was a miracle each time he did that. He was bright and curious, and once he could crawl he started getting into trouble, investigating things the way babies will. 

He'd unravel the spools of gold, not that it mattered since there was more than enough gold around to last several human lifetimes even if Rumple couldn't just conjure whatever he wanted. He'd reach up and tug hair, trying to get a reaction, or bang things together, fascinated when he found out that made a noise- at three in the morning. I wondered what Rumple would do the first time Gideon got into real trouble and would have to be told “no,” but of course, the baby was far too young to understand the idea that some things weren't good or even dangerous. However, he did talk to the baby. I'd hear him in the night telling him gently but still firmly “Time for you to sleep, son. You need your rest,” when he refused to close his eyes, and then recite the verse he loved, and Gideon came to love too. The baby couldn't understand words yet, but he began to learn what pleased and displeased his father. Soon he seemed to want to do what made him happy, just because he liked seeing him smile.

My relationship with Rumple was growing stronger too. I was already an adult, but I'd always wondered what it would be like to have a caring father figure. My Grandfather had filled that role, but he had passed away years ago. It felt good to have an older man be there for me again. 

All in all, I could have been happy living that life. The three of us, the pieces of two broken families, were becoming a whole. I thought Rumple was completely happy, or as close to as possible. The only times I saw him tear up and come close to a breakdown were when he talked to Gideon about Bae. I couldn't even imagine how much it hurt, but he wanted the baby to know his big brother. Then the day came when he talked about Belle for the first time. He would never stop loving her. 

That was also when I was reminded he could be violent, when he broke off mid story. I knew things would be bad when he put Gideon in his crib in a room where he wouldn't hear, then when into a room where he conjured a pile of breakable things. I knew better than to go in there until he got it out of his system. When there was nothing left to break- not even the pieces, he sat down and I went in. I sat beside him, feeling nervous around him for the first time since we'd met. 

“You're not perfect. You made mistakes, and you had reasons for what you did. That doesn't mean she was completely in the right. Not by a long shot,” I said finally.

“I should have known things would never work between us.”

Again with the lack of confidence and always blaming himself. He automatically assumed no one could love him. It would take a lot to undo that internal programming.

“Belle did love you once. She must have. She just- I don't know but she wasn't herself for a long time from what I saw.” He flinched. It couldn't be easy knowing I knew basically everything about his life, including private moments. Still, maybe it could help. “I mean she left you at the well when your heart was pure. She'd called you a hero, and then that? After you saved her from Merida? And she was very worried about you when you were in a coma. I know things seemed to keep getting worse, but for awhile there it looked like you could be together again.”

“No,” he said, his voice catching. “Our marriage was in trouble for a long time, and I couldn't give up the power, not even to fix things.”

“I don't think that's the problem.” Where was Archie when I needed him? Rumple needed more than a little therapy for the string of tragedies his life had been, and they should have been in marriage counseling long ago. “You didn't get to see it, but she said once that she loved all of you, even the parts that belonged to the darkness. She should have listened to you when you tried explaining. Somewhere along the line she forgot who really was just like she forgot when she was La-” I stopped. “Rumple, remind me again how she got her memories back after that.”

“I hardly see what it matters, but she had to drink a potion out of the chipped cup. Leroy gave the potion to me. When he had one made for his brother he had the Mother Sup-” He stopped, catching on. 

“He had Mother Superior, the Blue Fairy, make that potion! I thought I remembered that! And she helped Leroy, helped Grumpy? The guy she didn't want around because he was in love with a fairy? She was willing to help Belle remember you when she wouldn't help you to find Bae?” None of that made sense, and it all added up to one shady potion Belle had drank.

“Is it possible for a potion to have a delayed reaction?” I asked.

“A potion, a poison, anything that enters the body can be delayed or sped up. It's entirely possible.” he was growing angrier by the second. “If she put anything in that potion that shouldn't be, that blue gnat isn't going to know what hit her!”


	9. New Allies

I believe this is the point in the story where the announcer would say “Previously on Once Upon A Time.” I'm just going to say let's review. Back in Storybrooke we have one librarian who's probably under the influence of a potion to make her hate her husband, one evil queen running amok, two lovebirds taking turns under a sleeping curse, and one savior who believes she's going to die soon. Meanwhile in the Enchanted Forrest at the Dark Castle we have one baby, one Dark One who's just declared fairy hunting season open, and one way WAY too involved viewer hoping it isn't too late to reunite him with his true love. Let's continue. 

Operation Upendi was being prepared for. Operation? Ok, you know you've watched far too much Once when you refer to something as “operation” anything. That, or when you actually get sucked into the show. You know, whichever comes first. 

“Upendi?” Rumple asked with half a laugh when I told him the operation name.

“It's Swahili for love. I learned that from the second Lion King movie.” I figured this show had referenced every other Disney movie, may as well include that. 

Rumple's main concern, naturally, was anything or anyone trying to take Gideon away. He fastened a gold tracking bracelet on the baby's wrist so that no matter what he could always find him. He shrank Gideon's favorite toys and clothes to easily take with us. Anything else he could conjure as needed. There was one other thing he took, the stick he had once carved notches into to mark Bae's height as he grew. As for me, the most important thing I took was the mirror Rumple had given me to look back at my old life. Then we were ready to leave. 

There was some of the potion left that “Lacey” had drank to regain her memories. Although Rumple was tempted to just blast the fairy into oblivion right away, he had to admit we had to be sure of if it actually was the potion that made Belle act the way she was. I watched in fascination as he added a few things to a sample of the liquid back in his shop, watching it change color from blue to red. The change reflected in Rumple's face, showing his anger. I didn't have to ask what the color change meant. The Blue Fairy was about to be a cloud of blue pixie dust.

“I should have known. That pious little flea didn't even want me keeping Belle company when they worked on a way to prevent the Snow Queen's spell.” Ok, so Rumple had more of a plot going on than that at the time, but Blue hadn't known that.

“Look, she deserves whatever she gets. I'm just worried that the truth will die with her,” I told him. 

“She's not getting away with taking Belle from me!”

“She won't. But before she gets what she deserves, we need to make sure others know the truth.”

“No one is going to believe a word I say anyway. Or a word you say for that matter since you're on my side.”

I thought on that a moment. “Actually I know someone who doesn't like fairies any better than you do, or people interfering with love. Well, he does love one fairy, which is exactly why he's not Blue's biggest fan.” 

“Grumpy,” Rumple said, understanding where this was going, and smiled. “Two people with a common goal can accomplish many things. Two people with a common enemy-”

“Can accomplish even more,” I finished the line.   
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

OK so Grumpy/Leroy didn't exactly regard the Blue Fairy as an enemy, but he loved Nova/Astrid. Blue was the reason they couldn't be together. The guy had caused a blackout just to sell candles to raise the money Astrid needed. If I could convince Astrid to work with him and stand up against Blue, there was a chance things would start going our way. Especially since the dwarfs mined the diamonds the fairies needed for their magic. So I went into the convent, or the “firefly nest” as Rumple referred to it. Astrid wasn't too hard to find. She was the saddest looking fairy turned nun there. 

“Astrid?” She looked at me with a “my life sucks” expression. I didn't like to see anybody so miserable, but I took it as a good sign. She missed Grumpy. She still loved him. 

“Do I know you?”

“Um, no. But I was- watching some back recordings of Good Morning Storybrooke at the Library.” Dumb lie, but I couldn't come up with anything better. “And I got thinking about how you and Leroy looked so much in love. I'm new in town, from the land of unknown stories.” I doubted the fairy would recognize me from when I first appeared in town. It wasn't as if there were wanted posters out for me. “And I just had to know- do you still see him?”

Tears started collecting in her eyes. “How can I? I'm a fairy, even if I don't still have to be a nun. Fairies can't fall in love. Dwarfs can't either.”

“Because- why?” I prompted.

“It's just how things are. None of us can change it.”

“Aren't fairy tales all about people changing their lives?”

She gave a small sob. “Would he still want to be with me? I turned him down- on television. And all he ever did was try to show his love.”

I grabbed her by the hand as if the idea just came to me.

“Come on, Astrid. We're going to see him right now.”

She followed until we were outside.

“I can't! I can't just walk away from-”

“From Blue? The fairy who always says how hopeless you are and how you'll never amount to anything? The same Blue who told you that you'd never be a fairy god mother and told Leroy that he couldn't feel love, just a dream?” 

She looked at me as if debating what to say before admitting. “You're right. My life with her, at the convent, is terrible.”

“Then change it.” Wow I was suddenly reminded of Rumple telling Cinderella the same thing. Astrid drew a deep breath. She was listening, debating hard. “What it comes down to is, do you love him enough to go against her?”

She was steady now, and nodded. 

“Let's go.”


	10. Strike

Someone was going to have to watch Gideon for the next part of our plan. It would involve coming face to face with the Blue Fairy again, and while there was no doubt Rumple was the more powerful of the two, if things came to an actual magic conflict between them there would be a risk of Gideon getting hurt in the crossfire. There was only one person we could think of in town who didn't either actively hate Rumple or see him as a threat at the moment, and that was Archie. He'd presided over Rumple's marriage to Belle, seeing it as a happy occasion with no reservations. He'd listened and advised Rumple when he'd come to him before Bae was found. He would give Rumple the benefit of the doubt. 

That's not to say he wasn't more than a little frightened when we showed up in his home. Rumple wasn't intimidating. Or at least, he didn't try to be. Well, Archie had just been kept prisoner to watch baby Robin not that long ago, so he was bound to be stressed. I felt bad for the guy. He didn't need to be dealing with all this, but he still did his best to be kind and reasonable, and provide guidence. Once he calmed down, he did listen to what was going on, and he believed us about Belle and Rumple not speeding up the pregnancy. He didn't think Rumple had approached everything in the best possible way, but he understood his actions.

“I can certainly see you wouldn't harm your son in any way,” he said, seeing how contentedly Gideon slept in Rumple's arms. “And if someone is trying to take away Belle's freedom to love you, you have every right to win that freedom back. Just-” I expected him to say something along the lines of not wanting to see an innocent hurt, but he must have understood Rumple wasn't the type to hurt people for no reason. I didn't expect what came next, although I wasn't surprised. “I'll watch Gideon for you, and I won't let anyone take him. But after this is over, I want you to come back to see me.”

“You've been through a lot. You've been killed and brought back, lost your first son, held captive and controlled. None of that is something you can walk away from without a scar of some sort,” he continued. “And it isn't weakness to admit you need help coping with that.”

Rumple considered a moment, but ended up agreeing.

“Very well. We have a deal. Make sure no harm comes to my son, and that he's here when we return, and I'll talk to you about whatever you think I need to.”

The two men shook hands, actually shook hands in agreement! Rumple might make an actual friend in Storybrooke yet. He did warn Archie that Gideon had the tracking bracelet on, so trying to hand him off to anyone or keep him away from him would be a bad idea. Archie didn't seem as shaken as I thought, probably because he honestly didn't plan to betray him.

Going into the mines really was like walking into a Disney movie. Half of the dwarfs were whistling while they worked, and the other half were singing. Only one dwarf looked depressed and wasn't making music. Grumpy was still Grumpy. He'd stopped being Dreamy once he wasn't with his true love. The look on his face when Astrid and I come into the mines wasn't far off from the look on Rumple's when he saw Belle was alive. He dropped his axe and walked over to her. She spoke first.

“Leroy, I'm so sorry. If- if you still want me, I finally know what's most important to me, and that's being with you.”

The dwarf wasted no time. He took her in his arms and kissed her with as much desperation as a drowning man takes a breath. When they pulled apart she said “I should have chosen being with you sooner. I would have, but I didn't know how to break away from Mother Superior. She kept making me feel like I had no choice.”

“Mother Superior? The Blue Fairy? She told me to leave you alone if I really loved you and wanted you to have your dream of being a fairy godmother.”

She was shocked at that. “Fairy godmother? Before the curse she just had me collect the dust. She laughed when I told her I wanted to be a fairy godmother.”

He held her. “And I've been told dwarfs can't feel love. So looks like everyone was wrong about us. Because I love you, Astrid.”

They kissed again, and that was when I knew it was time to make my move.

“Actually, you two aren't the only ones the Blue Fairy has kept apart.” It had been arranged for Rumple to appear then. Leroy looked horrified as Rumple emerged from the cloud of smoke. I expected him to start running through town screaming “Terrible news!” Instead he stepped in front of Astrid. Not that Rumple had any plans to hurt her, but considering the damage he could do it was a real mark of love that the dwarf would stand between them. 

“Hang on! Rumple isn't going to hurt anyone. He's the one I was telling you about. The Blue Fairy tricked you when she made that potion for Belle. She didn't want them together, just like you and Astrid.”

Luckily, nobody freaked. Leroy actually seemed willing to listen.

“You got any proof of that, sister?” he asked. 

We were prepared for this. Rumple had used a dream catcher to collect a few memories. It showed him doing the test results on a sample of the potion, and the result. It showed my memoreies of why exactly Rumple had done what he had, and his reaction when the baby was taken. It also showed when Belle just didn't act like Belle. Finally Leroys looked at least halfway convinced.

“Not saying I trust him,” he gave a sharp look at Rumple. “But if Belle loves him and wants to be with him, that should be her choice, not the result of a spell. When I gave her that potion, it was because I wanted her to be with the one she loves.”

The change in Rumple's face was like seeing a lightbulb go on at hearing Belle loved him. That look faded when the Blue Fairy came in. Leroy actually looked ready to use his pick axe on her. She didn't even give him the dignity of acknowledging him. She did shoot a half frightened, half hateful look at Rumple before turning to Astrid. She didn't show any concern or ask where Gideon was.

“Astrid you need to return to the convent right now.”

She stood firm, shaking her head. “I'm staying with Leroy, with Dreamy. I love him.”

Her adversary had probably never been so angry. 

“I told you before. Dwarfs aren't capable of love.”

That set everyone on edge. The rest of the dwarfs, including “Tiny” had continued work, but now they all stopped, and took a stand beside their brother. 

“Well you also told me to stay away from her, because if I loved her I'd want her to have a chance to be the best fairy godmother she could be. But since dwarfs can't love, that might be a bit of a problem for you.” Wow who knew he could look so intimidating? Astrid was shaking herself, but spoke up bravely.

“And since you laughed at my dream of being a fairy godmother, there's no need to worry he'd ruin that anyway. Well, Dreamy is my new dream.” 

Leroy kissed her, and looked at the other dwarfs. “And I don't think she'll be getting any more of the diamonds we dig for dust, right boys?” Seven other heads nodded in agreement. He looked back at her, and I think everyone was pleased at her shocked expression. “The dwarfs are officially on strike. If you want to change that, coming clean to Belle about what you did to that potion would be a start. And yes we know about that.” 

“You know, I'm not especially fond of fairies, but I could learn to like dwarfs,” Rumple commented with a smirk.

“You- you're actually taking the side of the Dark One?” 

“Any two people in love should damn well have the right to be together, lady.” 

Wow go Grumpy! Th Blue Fairy turned to Rumple.

“Give me back the child. If you want Belle back, that's the only way.”

The expression “if looks could kill” came to mind as he answered.

“Even if he hadn't come dangerously close to being taken by the Black Fairy under your care, the answer would be the same. Over my dead body. Actually, preferably over your dead body. You're going to let her know the truth, Dearie, so she'll accept the spell being reversed.”

Unable to come up with any kind of sensible answer and obviously unwilling to give in, she vanished. And that was how the first dwarf strike in history began.


	11. Ding Dong

It turned out none of the other fairies were exactly thrilled with Blue. Astrid wasn't the only one she'd belittled and intimidated. When the others heard the Dwarfs were on strike because of her, they walked out of the convent. Now Blue was alone, and it was a question of time before she broke and revealed the truth about how she'd tried to keep Belle and Rumple apart. All of Storybrooke was in upheaval, and the Charmings weren't happy about the Dwarfs taking Rumple's side. 

The Dwarfs would always be loyal to Snow, and I had no doubt if Rumple was planning to hurt her they would have fought back in every way possible. If necessary they would give their lives helping her against the Evil Queen. But now they knew Blue had worked to keep true loves apart, and that would not be allowed. The Charmings didn't understand how they could believe Rumple on anything, but the dwarfs remained firm that the truth would come out. 

Meanwhile, the Evil Queen wasn't the only danger in town. Zelena had sided firmly with her now that Regina had said she could never forgive her for Robin's death. It was stupid since Regina had saved Zelena's life and the Evil Queen had tried to kill her, but Zelena would do anything out of spite. She'd virtually forgotten little Robin, who Regina was basically raising now. There was no spark of love for anyone in her heart, and even if the Evil Queen was gone she'd still be a threat. She would have to be taken down sooner or later, and Rumple was determined to be the one to do it. She'd controlled him, tricked Bae into sacrificing himself, and caused him enough misery for a hundred lifetimes. 

The problem of course was that he could not use magic to hurt her. She'd seen to that when she'd given him the remedy for his heart. So it was up to Rumple to do one of the things he did best, find a loophole. Now it was time for Operation Upendi to take a side mission, Operation Ding Dong.

Once again I was glamored, this time to look like the Evil Queen. I had nothing against how Regina looked. I'd often wished I looked that good. The only downside was the Evil Queen's taste in clothes left a lot to be desired unless it was Halloween. Heck even Regina had asked what she was wearing when she' found herself in a dress like that. Rumple had good taste in clothes, but I had to look the part, so that meant a very disturbing dress.

“Eeew,” I commented when I saw myself.

“I had to be disguised as the pirate to get my dagger back,” Rumple reminded me. 

As a final touch, I was given the magic stopping wrist cuffs. Harmless to me, but they would leave anyone with magic as helpless as any ordinary person. They were enchanted to look like exceptionally finely made matching gold bracelets, with bits of green jade worked into the design. Zelena would go crazy for them. Speaking of going crazy, it was sinking in that I was about to go up against the wicked witch of the west. Wasn't that Dorothy's job? I have to admit, I was just a little afraid. If she realized I was tricking her, this would not end well. But Rumple was on hand. I trusted him to not let it get that far.

Zelena was waiting for the Evil Queen to return. I waited long enough for it to seem like she'd be returning early, but not so long that I'd risk running into her. I tried to match the Evil Queen's confident stride and chilling smirk.

“Had an interesting day sis?” I asked, sauntering in, sounding like I was hiding some big secret. I silently thanked my acting teacher. 

“Oh yes I'm just having an amazing time setting in your office while you go about your plans to steal Henry,” she shouted in frustration. “What about my daughter?”

I gave a careless shrug. “You made your choice. Regina will never stop blaming you for Robin's death. I, however, have moved on.” I made a point of admiring the bracelets. Zelena literally started turning green. Good. Nice and envious.

“Where did you get those?”

“An old admirer.” I gave a cold laugh. The style of the “bracelets” left no doubt who would have given them. Zelena was obsessed with Rumple. Keeping him in a cage for so long and taunting him at the hospital in New York made that obvious enough. She would literally kill for a gift like that, and being from him made it even more important. I poured us each a drink, but never took a sip. Instead I left the glasses and went to the mirror. I made a point of admiring myself before taking the cuffs off and going into the next room. 

Zelena should have realized her “little sis” was being incredibly careless with something that looked so valuable, but she was too jealous to care. I was close enough to hear the glass clank as she took a drink, and her snap on the cuffs. That's when they locked to her wrists, blocking her magic. This time, there would be no coming back for her. Rumple appeared as the cuffs went back to their normal appearance and I looked like myself again. She looked ready to scream and beg for mercy as soon as she knew she'd been tricked. Mercy wouldn't be shown.

“You- you can't hurt me,” she stammered, not sounding at all sure about that.

“I can't use my magic to cause you physical pain, Dearie,” he told her in a tone that would have stopped almost anyone's heart with fear. “But I don't need magic for that, and there's more than one way to cause someone pain. You kept me caged, tricked Bae into giving his life, made me your slave, and tried to help Belle run off with my second son. You almost forced me to kill an innocent child, and delighted in every bit of torture you could inflict on me. Now, you're going to pay.” He turned to me. “You might want to turn away. This isn't going to be pretty.”

I remembered when he'd said the same thing to Belle. She'd stepped in and stopped him. I did the sensible thing. I turned away. I don't know what magical devices he all used on her, although I'm sure he used his cane more than a little. Her screams should have brought the whole town running, but I'm guessing Rumple froze everyone else. I had no sympathy for Zelena after all she'd done, but I was glad I didn't see what happened if the sounds were anything to go by. I hated Zelena, but I'd never had much stomach for gore. Rumple was obviously enjoying this, and I didn't blame him one bit. This time no one would step in. A hero would have, I suppose. If Rumple were a hero, he would have been merciful maybe. But I accepted that about him. He wasn't a hero. Not by the other “heroes” standards at least. He wasn't a villain. He was somewhere in between, and Zelena had it coming. 

It was a long time before he gave her a moment to stop screaming and start breathing. I knew what was coming. His magic couldn't cause her pain, but a potion could. Rumple had explained to me exactly what the potion I was pouring into those glasses would do. He wasn't going to trick me, and wanted to be sure I wouldn't regret my part in this later. I wouldn't. Zelena was unredeemable. She'd caused too much pain, and didn't regret a moment of it. She belonged in jail at the minimum. After drinking that potion, her jail would be her own mind, where she would be forced to relive her worst memories forever, only intensified and twisted to nightmare level. 

“You know, I thought there was nothing I'd like better than seeing you dead. But I learned something after being brought back. There are fates worth than death, Dearie.”

She looked to me, looking absolutely deranged and terrified. I would have felt pity on her if she was anyone else, but I remembered Rumple's heartbreak over Bae because of her, how she'd kept him locked in that cage, how she'd driven him to such terror he'd flatlined in the hospital at the sight of her. She'd tried helping Belle keep Gideon from Rumple. She'd caused Robin's death after tricking him into getting her pregnant. That was just the start of the list. She'd been given every chance to redeem herself, and had failed. No, she didn't deserve mercy.

“Kill me!” she shrieked.

“In good time,” Rumple said calmly. He might have been commenting on the weather. He held up a vial. “Water from the River of Souls. When I decide you've had enough, I'll pour this over you and watch you melt away for good. In the meantime, you'll be frozen with your mind as your prison. You'll be able to see and hear everything that goes on, knowing every step everyone takes, every sight they ever see, everything they every have, you'll be denied forever.”

For Zelena, always jealous of everything, there was no worse punishment. Now anything at all would be more than what she had. A spell to freeze her, another to change her appearance, and no one would ever think she was anything but a statue. I didn't realize I was shaking until it was over. Zelena was pure evil, but she wasn't a character anymore. In this world she was real, and I'd just seen Rumple worse than end her. And it didn't bother me one bit. That thought was what made me shaky. I'd had my morals questioned before on facebook for loving Rumple so much. But being moral didn't mean letting a crime go unpunished. Rumple looked at me, and his eyes held regret. Not for Zelena. He'd never regret what he did to her, and I would never ask him to. He was wondering if I'd be like Belle, and despise what he'd done. He regretted any guilt or shame I might feel.

“I've said before if someone hurt someone I love, I wouldn't let them get away with it,” I finally said. “You promised Bae you'd avenge him, and you did. He died so you could defeat her. I don't think he'd object to this, and I sure don't.”

I looked at the statue, knowing Zelena was trapped in there, suffering, being tortured and knowing someday she would melt, only as a mercy after Rumple had decided she had enough. The heroes would think it meant I was evil, but I was glad.


	12. Tale as old as Time

Blue was stubborn. I had to give her that. The strike and the other fairies walking out were not getting her to tell Belle the truth. So Plan B went into effect. It was time for him to just try getting Belle to believe him. It would have been much easier if someone besides Rumple could tell her the truth, but this was the best we could do. We still hadn't proved Rumple didn't speed up the pregnancy, but with the real Belle being suppressed by magic, she probably wouldn't have believed it anyway.

Belle was far from happy to see Rumple with their baby when she opened the door. If Rumple hadn't had magic she would have probably ripped the two apart right them and taken Gideon right then. He put up a shield to keep her far enough back to not take him, but close enough for her to be sure he wasn't harmed in any way.

“I'm not trying to keep him from you, Belle, but I won't be kept from our son either. And you're not yourself. I should have realized it long ago. Remember when you thought you were Lacey? That potion you drank? It wasn't just something to help you get your memories back. It did something to you. It caused you to hate me.”

“You did that on your own!”

Rumple winced, and I knew he was always being harder on himself for everything than anybody else could be.

“I know, and I know I've broken your heart by not being who you want me to-”

OK, enough of that!

“Rumple stop that line of thinking right now. Belle herself said once she loved all of you, even the parts that belong to darkness. What you told her in the Underworld was exactly right. Her helping you become the best you that you can be is great, but it' not OK to try making you into a different person. If that's what she wants, that isn't love. But that doesn't sound like Belle, at least not the Belle I've seen.” I looked at Belle. “And you know who Rumple really is, and deep down below whatever spell you're under you love him. You know he would never do anything to hurt a child. He didn't speed up your pregnancy.” 

“He was free! He was free of the curse, and he took it back! That's enough to tell me what kind of a person he is.”

“What else did he have left?” I challenged back. “You didn't see his life before he became the Dark One. I did. If you could see that, if you could understand what his life was before, you'd finally get it.”

“He loves power more than me, or else he'd have trusted me with the dagger like he said he would. He lied then, and he'll lie again.”

“Would you trust someone with an object that could control you completely? Especially after that object had just been used to keep you as a slave? You know that much of what he was put through.”

“And what about the gauntlet? It leads to what someone loves, and it lead me strait to the dagger.”

I actually face palmed at that. “You should be glad it didn't lead to you. It's because you're not his weakness. That doesn't mean he doesn't love you.”

She didn't respond to that, but her eyes lit on the mirror I now always carried in my purse sticking out. I still looked in on the people who had made up my old life, and never took a chance on anything happening to my only window into what was. I rarely used it to see anything else, even though it could show me anything. Wait. Show me anything. Belle seemed to recognize that. Maybe Rumple had once told her what it was the way he had about the gauntlet.

“Look into it,” I invited her. “Ask it to show you who he really is. You'll see. He isn't the monster the Blue Fairy has you thinking he is.” 

She took the mirror, and uncertainly she looked into it and said “Show me the true nature of Rumplestiltskin.”

I couldn't see what was reflected, but I could hear it. There was the scene of Rumple holding Bae as a baby, promising to always be there for him. There was him weeping that all he had was his boy, and the soldiers were going to take him away. There was the day he ended the Ogre Wars, something never clearly shown on TV. I could hear the joy in his voice when he told the children they could go home. Then there was him telling Cruella and Ursula that if they harmed Belle Maleficent would burn, and when he gave her the library. There was something Belle never had a chance to see, that day in the hotel in New York where he had breakfast and a rose for her while she was in the box. He would have woken her up and shown her New York. He was a protector, someone who loved his family. Plenty of images of him caring for the new baby followed.

Then there was another side of his nature, his insecurity. There was him painfully asking her what would happen if he failed, telling her he believed he was a man no one could love. The most violent image it showed was one he cringed at, but I was glad it showed that one. It was him briefly threatening her father, but only because he refused to kiss her to wake her. Belle put a hand to her mouth in shock at that. No one had told her he'd done that. The image ended with Rumple not harming him, but pleading for Belle's sake. That was when Moe and Blue came in. Apparently word had already gotten around that we were there. 

“Belle don't listen to him!” Moe pleaded, but she was beginning to see enough to start believing Rumple again. 

“She doesn't have to listen. She saw,” I told him. I was loving this. I'd waited a long time for him to be revealed as a creep. I hated that he was that way. I'd loved the original Maurice, but this was not him.

“You wouldn't wake me? You would have left me and my unborn child to sleep for eternity?”

“Better that than have you be under his spell!”

Belle was thoroughly disgusted at that, and things were about to get worse when Blue spoke up.

“Belle, listen. I knew your mother. We were friends. I was the one who taught her the language of fairies. All I did was to protect you from the likes of him. When you trusted me with your child, it was the happiest moment I've ever had.”

Belle wasn't buying one word of it.

“So you did put me under a spell? You took away my choice. He was telling the truth all along. No one decides my fate but me! And was it you who really sped my pregnancy up?”

“That wouldn't surprise me,” I said, “but I have a feeling that one wasn't her doing. But I do know Rumple would never hurt that baby.”

Belle turned to her husband, and he help out a cup, the chipped cup. He must have brought it home from the Underworld. He poured a vial of liquid in it and offered it to her.

“I know I've done wrong. I won't be kept from our son, but I'm not forcing you to stay with me either.” The gold band on her arm disappeared. “I was never trying to control you. Drink this, and know the truth. Then, as long as I don't lose another child, whatever happens next is your choice.” 

Both her father and Blue protested, but Belle accepted the cup, drinking down the potion. She swayed slightly, then gasped as if she had just been woken up from a nightmare. The careful way she set the cup down told me how much value she placed on it again. Rumple was hovered on the edge of action. He clearly wanted to hold her and kiss her, but was terrified of her reaction. She was the one to take the first step, and they had their arms around each other and were kissing before another full breath was taken. 

“You're all right?” Rumple asked. Anyone would have thought she'd been shot rather than under a spell he was so worried about her. She nodded.

“Rumple I- the way I acted. The things I said-.”

“I know how wrong I was about so many things,” he interrupted. I threw back my head with a groan. Was this guy ever going to have any sense of self worth? Luckily now Belle and I were on the same side, Rumple's side.

“No. You thought you were going to lose our son. I was wrong to ever put you through that kind of pain.”

“In all fairness, there's someone else to blame for how you've been acting,” I pointed out. Blue had already disappeared. I didn't doubt Rumple would give her what she deserved later. Belle would be the one to take care of her father, but there was one thing on her mind first.

“Gideon? You had him all this time? He's all right?”

Rumple nodded, handing their son to her. Belle tearfully took him. She held him and murmured. 

“I'm so sorry, to both you and your papa. I'm so, so sorry.” Then she looked at her father, and he seemed to shrink as he defended himself.

“I did this for you Belle! That monster took you from me, kept you priso-”

“No,” Belle stopped him. “He's not a monster, and I was never his prisoner. I chose to go with him when he offered that deal. I told you that from the first. I never knew then that I would fall in love with him, but I did. Even if I hadn't, if you take away my choice, then you're the one keeping me prisoner. You tried erasing my memories of him once before. I've had enough of it.”

“If your mother could have lived to see-” Moe started to argue.

“Mother was a strong, intelligent, independent woman. She would want me to make my own choices. And I'm choosing now. I choose my husband and child. And until you can accept who Gideon's father is, I don't think you can accept Gideon either. He's the result of the love I feel for Rumple, and he's just as much Rumple's son as mine. Until things change, I don't want you near any of us.”

Welcome back real Belle! If there was one thing that could hurt worse than a parent losing a child, it was a grandparent being kept from a grandchild. He looked horrified at that.

“You'd actually prefer he be raised by-”

“By the father who loves him and has raised him all this time. You causing me to fear Rumple led to this family being separated this long, but we're together now, and I'm not going to let your hate for my husband cost us another second together.”

Bookworm really did have teeth, as Regina had once said. Ouch! There was such venom in how she looked at him it looked like he was in physical pain. If there was anything Belle hated, it was being controlled, and there was no question it wasn't Rumple she was angry with now. Moe slunk out, and Belle and Rumple were left holding their child between them. Suddenly I felt like an intruder. I stepped back, but Rumple looked at me then, and Belle followed his gaze. 

“Who ARE you?” She asked.

“Like I told you the first time I saw you- well, first time I saw you in person, I came here somehow from a world where you're all part of a TV show. When I saw what was happening, I just wanted to help Rumple so bad I guess my wish brought me here somehow.”

She studied me a moment, and seemed to be wondering just what kind of love I had for Rumple. There was nothing to worry about. I adored him, but not with the same type of love they had for each other. She seemed to figure that out. I had helped get them back together, after all. She gave me a smile.

“Thank you” 

I smiled back. There was a lot I'd lost, but seeing two people so meant to be together reunited definitely helped take the edge off that.


	13. Starting over

Belle was as grateful as Rumple for my part in reuniting their family, and I would have been more than welcome to stay in their Victorian style house. I would have loved it, but I also would have felt like an intruder. The apartment over the library had been for Belle, but even though she didn't live there now, I still would have felt wrong moving in there. There was still an apartment over the pawnshop. I accepted that, on the condition I paid rent. I wanted to be able to take care of myself. I took a job at Granny's. Working in a restaurant might not seem like much, but it was way better than my old job. Besides, Granny was cool, and I liked working for her.

Rumple never broke deals, and he kept his part of the deal to continue to see Archie. Of course I never pried into what they talked about. He had a lot of pain in his past, and it would take a lot to heal those wounds, but soon he seemed like some of his burden had been lifted, and things would hopefully continue to improve. Sometimes Belle would go with him. Other times Archie wanted to talk to Rumple in private. I babysat Gideon when Belle went to the sessions, but when she didn't I spent a lot of time talking with her.

Now that she wasn't under a spell, I was finding out Belle was actually a pretty cool person. We found a lot in common, both being book worms and both loving travel. I told her about trips I'd been on, and she recommended books this world had that my old world didn't. I could easily see us becoming friends, although she knew who's side I'd be on if she and Rumple had another fight. I think like in the movie, she was a bit lonely even having her true love. No one actively shunned her, but no one ever really spent time with her either. Well, unless they wanted her to look something up in the library that they could easily look up themselves.

I'd expected to be shunned for caring for Rumple, or even looked at strangely because I wasn't from the Enchanted Forrest or any other magical place. Basically I was ignored by most people. They were so used to different realms and so many kinds of strange people I guess I wasn't really a surprise. I got a surprise of my own when Rumple finished with one of his sessions and told me Archie wanted to see me.

I wondered what that was about, and when I went to his office it turned out Archie wanted me to start having sessions. I hadn't thought about it before, but I was glad he did. Being trapped in a new world wasn't exactly an easy transition, and we talked about a lot of things. All he knew about psychology was because he'd once been cursed with false memories, but he was good at his job. He was quickly becoming a friend to all the Golds and myself. Now that they were together Leroy and Astrid were becoming friends too, glad of my part in finally getting them together.

Blue hadn't been seen since Belle had learned the truth, hiding out somewhere. Then one day I was visiting with Belle at their place and we noticed Rumple was very late coming back from his session with Archie. He was in an extremely good mood when he came home though, arms loaded with gifts. He claimed he was just especially cheerful after a great talk with the therapist, and had been delayed doing his shopping, but that night a fireworks display was seen over the woods. Rumple kept glancing at the sky every few minuets before the show started , like he was expecting it. Almost all the fireworks were a particular shade of blue, the shade associated with the fairy's magic. Whenever the fairy was mentioned after that, I noticed the corners of his mouth turn up a bit and a different look come over his eyes. I certainly wasn't going to say anything. 

Probably the only reason Moe was relatively unharmed was because Belle still loved him, even though she was not letting the grudge drop. She could be the most forgiving person on the planet at times, but if she decided not to forgive, there was no changing her mind. Moe did meet with a long series of misfortunes though, most of them unexplainable. I may or may not have let the air out of his tires once myself. Belle had every right to be angry with him for taking away her choices, and I wasn't too thrilled with him for his role in keeping Rumple and Belle apart. If Belle suspected Rumple and I had something to do with Moe's hard times, she never brought it up.

Life would have been relatively good, if the Evil Queen weren't still on the lose. Rumple used his magic to protect my heart, as well as Belle's and Gideon's so she couldn't take them. One less tool for her to control or kill us. Belle agreed to wear the gold tracking bracelet again so if she were taken anywhere Rumple would immediately know. 

I was given a bracelet of my own, and was glad of the protection. Being friends with the Golds had both benefits and drawbacks. Benefit: Very few with half a brain would go after someone under Rumple's protection. Drawback: to Rumple's enemies, I'd just gained a target on my back, and the Evil Queen was definitely his enemy. She might not have a personal problem with me, but if she wanted Rumple's help (and it seemed like everyone always did) anyone who mattered to him could be used against him.

Strangely, life continued almost normally. In Storybrooke, a villain trying to destroy everything was the normal state of things. No point in staying inside with the doors locked when you had someone with magic after you, although Rumple did put up special protective wards. People went to work and school and even out to eat, which was what we were doing when Snow, Regina. Emma, and of course everyone's favorite pirate came in and approached us. I still wasn't exactly popular with Emma and Hook, and Rumple certainly wasn't on their friends list. As always though, everyone came to Rumple to solve their problems. They had a sword in their hand. 

“Gold, we need your help,” Emma said immediately. Typical. They had a probably magical item and no idea how it worked, and needed Rumple to tell them. Seriously he did more saving on the show than anyone else. 

“Interesting sword you have, Miss Swan,” Rumple commented, observing it carefully before his eyes locked on hers. “The last I remember seeing it, it was in my shop.” Typical. They'd stolen from him and now came to him for answers to their problems. Then if he used magic for them they' complain about the price. 

“We didn't steal it! You'd left town. No one thought you were ever coming back,” she defended herself. “And we need to know why this sword is special. It's the sword from the visions I had. It's the sword that was supposed to kill me.”

She let Rumple take the sword in his hands, and he studied it carefully.

“Those visions have stopped, haven't they?” 

Emma stared at him. “How did you know that?”

“Apparently everyone has forgotten, but I do get glimpses into the future. I had similar visions, and they stopped. They stopped as soon as Lindsay entered this world in fact.” He looked at me, and I wasn't sure what to say. My arrival hadn't just changed things for Rumple. It had changed the course of the future of Storybrooke. Would it change Rumple's future for the better, or had I only made things worse in the long run? He had Gideon back though. There was no way that could be a bad thing.

“All I did was help you get to Gideon.”

“Just in time to keep the Black Fairy from taking him,” he pointed out. 

“What would she have done with him?” Belle asked. “She steals babies, but why?”

“Time in her world is different,” Rumple explained, “and filled with Dark Magic beyond even my comprehension. There's no limit to what she might have done to him, but it would have made our worst nightmares seem like a pleasant dream.”

Belle gasped, knowing she'd come close to sentencing Gideon to that. Granted she'd been under a spell, but the result would have been the baby's life destroyed. 

“If the visions stopped because Gideon was saved, that means changing his life was the cause,” I realized. “Could Gideon have been the figure under the hood?”

Rumple nodded grimly. “With the way time works in her realm, he could easily have been aged into a man in what would only be a few minuets in this world.” I let out a shiver. Gideon- that sweet little baby- turned into a weapon? It was unimaginable. “Thankfully, that won't be his fate now.” Belle held the baby close, and I saw the fear in her face, thinking of what she had almost caused.

“The visions have stopped, so that will never happen now?” she looked to him for confirmation. 

“The future is never easy to read. All the pieces of the puzzle never show themselves the way they should. But if the future was the same, the visions should have continued. That's assuming he ever was the hooded figure in the first place. We still don't know it wasn't the Evil Queen.”

“Or you yourself,” Hook had to put in. Belle might have believed in giving him a chance, but even she glared at him for that.

“Rumple gave his life to save the people he loves. He isn't about to destroy the town,” I spoke up. “You might want to remember that the next time you accuse him of anything or call him a coward.”

“One act doesn't change who he is. A Crocodile can't change his skin.”

I stood up and got in his face at that. Rumple watched impressed. He let me say my piece, but was ready to step in if it looked like I was going to be hurt. Hook wouldn't have raised a hand before Rumple would have acted in that case

“Right. But the pirate who once handed over children to the lost boys can? Not to mention the little 'I've had many a man's wife,' remark.” His mouth hung open a bit. Wow. So that was why he'd gotten the nickname of Codfish in the Disney movie. Emma looked at him, and I wondered if that topic would come up later. “Don't be a hypocrite and claim you can change, but doubt any good in him. Not that he was ever anywhere near as bad as everyone seems to think. His first act as the Dark One was saving thousands of children's lives. Yours was to bring all the Dark Ones to Storybrooke in exchange for the people here being dragged to the Underworld.”

“And he sacrificed himself to make up for that,” Emma defended him. 

“A sacrifice he undid by taking back the curse,” Hook glared at Rumple again.

“Maybe he wouldn't have felt the need for power as strongly if someone hadn't challenged him to a fight he couldn't possibly have won.” I knew there was much more to his insecurity than that, but still, I wasn't in a forgiving mood just then. If he wanted to be at Rumple, I wasn't going to stand to the side. “Even when he fought you when you were the Dark One and he had no magic you still made it so he had to take Excalibur from you if he was going to kill you. Oh, I forgot, you healed his leg. That made it fair,” I said sarcastically. “That was the icing on the cake though. He didn't just beat you in a fair fight. He beat you in a fight that was stacked against him.” Hook's face changed colors a few times and Rumple smirked. Knowing Rumple had beaten him that way bothered him worse than anything else could have. He couldn't deny it, but he did try to get in one more insult.

“Hiding behind her?” he asked.

“No, but I saw no reason to interrupt her either.” 

“This isn't getting us anywhere,” Regina cut in before there was a full blown fight. “We have a theory that this sword could kill the Evil Queen without hurting me.”


	14. The Two Wolves

“I'm sorry to disappoint you, Dearie, but there is no way to kill the Evil Queen without killing you,” Rumple told Regina.

“But we saw that sword cut her, and Regina was unharmed,” Emma pointed out.

“The Evil Queen was cut, not killed. It can injure her and leave you unharmed, but if she were destroyed completely- if my guess is right, you would cease to exist. There's no way to be certain of course since Jekyll was the only person to ever completely divide himself before, but it's not a chance I'd take if I were you.”

Regina looked downcast. She didn't want to die, but I could see the decision already in her eyes.

“What about a third option?” Emma asked. “What if Regina and the Evil Queen become one person again?

Regina's face showed her terror at the idea, and she protested right away.

“No! That- that monster has to be destroyed, even if that means I'm destroyed with her. The things she did- there isn't even a punishment that could begin to be justice.”

I looked at her sadly. Regina was horrified at what the other half of her had done, but she could never truly be free of it.

“Even if she's destroyed, Regina, even with the evil taken out of you, you can't just walk away from her. I- I saw your heart, when you removed it to help protect Zelena. It's still darkened. You can't separate good and evil. Your heart is still dark, and there's still a tiny piece of her heart that is longing for Henry. Hyde loved Mary, and Jekyll killed her. Your parents had all the darkness removed from you Emma,” I nodded in her direction. “But you're not perfect. Lily was filled with darkness, and she isn't trying to destroy the town.” I looked back at Regina. “You might hate it, but part of you will always be the Evil Queen. I'm sorry, but I think you have to accept that.”

She hung her head. “I can't keep that evil in check. I can't guarantee if she's part of me again that I can control her.”

There was a painful silence. I broke it starting a story.

“You know, there's an old legend that everyone is born with two wolves inside them. Some versions say dogs. Anyway, one is evil, one is good. They fight for control of the heart as long as the person lives. Then, when the heart is judged, one of them will have won.”

Emma asked the obvious question. I think the others knew the answer.

“So which wolf wins?”

I shrugged. “That depends on which one the person feeds most.”

Regina had fed the evil wolf for years. I could guess she was wondering if the good wolf could ever be fed enough to overcome it.

“It isn't just the guilt,” she said quietly. “I don't want to be that person anymore. That was the whole point of being separated from her.” She took a breath. “If we are able to become one person again, and this part of me can't overcome her, then she has to be stopped even if that means this half of me is destroyed. Especially if she- if I ever try to hurt Henry.” She took a shaky breath and Emma reassured her.

“Hurting Henry is the very last thing you would do, even with her still inside you.”

She tried to force a smile. Oddly enough, after she'd worked to keep Rumple and Belle apart for twenty eight years, it was Rumple who reassured her.

“Regina, remember when we were looking for the author, and I told you that as unbelievable as it seemed, I wanted you to have your happy ending? I meant that.” She almost smiled, but he held up his hand. “I forgave you a long time ago. However, the Evil Queen widened the divide between Belle and I, and her actions pushed Belle into handing our son over to the Blue Fairy in fear of me. That I can't forgive, and the Evil Queen will be punished for what she's done.”

Not even Belle, always so quick to believe the best in everyone, objected. There was only one concern.

“How will you punish her without hurting Regina?” Snow asked.

“Oh believe me, Dearie. I'll find a way.” I don't think anyone doubted him. Henry was concerned though. 

“You wouldn't let my Mom get hurt, right?”

Rumple looked saddened at the lack of trust his grandson had in him. I was about to speak up, but Belle beat me to it. 

“He wouldn't hurt you, Henry,” she said. “And he knows hurting Regina would do that. When he went to Neverland, there was a prophesy that saving you would kill him, and he still went knowing that.”

“No one ever thanked him for his sacrifice either,” I pointed out. 

Everyone, except Hook, looked at each other with just a touch of guilt, and Henry spoke up at last.

“Thank you, Grandpa, for saving my life. For saving all our lives.”

Rumple didn't know how to react. It was probably the first time anyone had ever sincerely thanked him for anything. He looked Henry in the eyes and quietly and simply answered. 

“You're welcome.”


	15. A Magical Surprise

“Can you help once more?” Henry asked. “Can you make a potion or something that will help rejoin my Mom and the Evil Queen?”

Rumple nodded slowly. 

“I won't make a promise I might not be able to keep, but the potion I made that Hyde destroyed came close to it. I believe with a few more adjustments, there's a chance it's possible.”

Henry smiled at him. “Thank you again Grandpa. And- I want you to know that when this family says we'll always be together, we'll always find each other, I might not have always shown it, but as far as I'm concerned you're included in that. You, Grandma-” he gave a teasing look at Belle who couldn't help smiling back at him, “And my newest uncle.” Gideon gurgled as if he'd understood what Henry had said. Rumple was genuinely touched.

“Thank you, Henry.”

“Well forgive me if I for one don't feel indebted to the Crocodile after he took on the darkness again,” Hook spoke up. There couldn't be just one warm moment in this family?

“Enough with the Crocodile thing already! You don't always have to be calling him that. I mean how would you like to have people calling you Codfish?” I waved my arm angrily, and would have said more, but it didn't matter.

In a second the pirate vanished, and on the floor where he' been standing, a fish flopped. Regina   
immediately conjured a tank as Emma scooped him up. I expected everyone to start demanding Rumple change him back, but Rumple was staring at me. As soon as the confusion of making sure the fish didn't suffocate on dry land was over, so was everyone else. 

“Turn him back right now!” Emma demanded, glaring at me.

“Wha- what? You think I did this?” I mean, not that I wanted everyone ticked at Rumple, but why was I being blamed? I had no magic. I couldn't have gotten anyone to fall for a card trick much less transform anyone. It was just extremely bad timing that I'd happened to use that word choice. 

“You were the one arguing with him when it happened. And I saw how you moved your hand and were looking at him. And you were the one who called him a fish.”

“I was angry with him and I made one random hand motion!” I looked to Rumple to back me up. He wasn't the type to let someone else take the fall for him. So why was he looking at me like I was someone different, like it was possible I was something more than someone who'd just accidentally gotten trapped in a different world? 

“I've been wondering for some time if you have magic,” he said thoughtfully. “Magic of some form brought you here, after all.”

What? I must have said a million times I had no idea how I'd been transported to Storybrooke! 

“I come from a place that really is a land without magic. I don't know what really changed him into a fish, but I didn't do anything! I couldn't if I'd even wanted too.” I hadn't actually wanted to hurt anyone. Even if I had, I didn't have magic. And yet- hadn't I been thinking of him being called a codfish when he'd been changed? 

“I mean this is ridiculous,” I continued. “Someone must have slipped him a potion or something at some point. Or- or maybe- I don't know, but I didn't do that.”

Regina was looking at me strangely now too. 

“It did look like you were using magic.” She wasn't accusing, just trying to make sense of things.

Ok, it was official. Everyone in Storybrooke had gone insane!

“I don't know the first thing about magic!” I threw my hands up in the air as my frustration grew, and sparks came from my hands. Um. OK. Really bad static electricity? I was honestly starting to get a little scared now, and stared at my hands. Everyone else could stop staring any time now!

“That wasn't a spell. I mean how could it be?” I tried to argue.

“I don't think there's honestly anymore doubt you have magic,” Rumple said. “And you're right, you don't know the first thing about it. Which means if you're going to control it, you have a lot to learn.” 

If Emma hadn't been ready to kill me before, she was now.

“Listen, you're relatively new here, and maybe what you did to Killian was an accident, but if you start taking magic lessons from him you'll be starting down a dark path you might never find your way back from.”

“If she doesn't learn how to control her magic, she could be a danger to herself or others,” Rumple pointed out. “Her magic isn't just going to go away. Would you rather have it yield to her will, or come out in a burst when she's angry or frightened?”

“That depends what her will is,” Emma challenged.

“How many times do I have to say I don't have magic?” I yelled. “Even if I did, I'm not out to hurt anyone. If- if somehow I did change him, I wasn't trying to.” I was sure he'd be fine anyway. Zeus himself had brought him back from the dead. How much safer could it get? If they'd stop an think a moment, wouldn't true love's kiss solve everything anyway? Emma was starting to calm down a bit, probably finally realizing her boyfriend wouldn't be a fish forever.

“If you have to learn magic, Regina and I can teach you.” 

I shook my head. 

“No offense but I've stuck with Rumple all along, and if anyone is going to teach me magic it's going to be him.” Ok, how exactly had I gone from denying I had magic to agreeing to lessons? Now I'd gone insane. Apparently everyone else thought so too. They left with the fish tank, and I was left with Rumple, Belle, and the baby. 

“You don't seriously believe I can do magic?” I asked Rumple.

“Well, I didn't change the pirate. The only other people here with magic are Regina and Miss Swan, and neither one of them would have. And there's no other way I can think of to explain how you arrived in Storybrooke.” 

It didn't make any sense. I don't think there was anyone less likely to have magic than me. And yet if I could even do enough to shield myself, I'd be less of a worry for Rumple if I was ever under attack. In Storybrooke where there was never a whole day without a villain on the loose, that was only a matter of time. 

“I suppose I'll find out one way or another once you start to teach me.”

His face took on a worried look as he asked “Your last name wasn't Mills in your old life was it?”

It took a second to realize he was joking, and I laughed. I could imagine he'd never want to teach anyone related to his past students again.

“No, not even close.”

“Good. In that case, we can start tonight.”

I gulped. “Tonight?”

“There's no reason to wait, and every reason you should learn to use your gift.” 

True. If the Evil Queen attacked, what I learned might make a difference. Belle looked at me supportingly, but I had the sudden mental image of me blowing up their house. Why couldn't I have landed in a nice safe show like I Love Lucy?


	16. Light a Single Candle

When I went for my first magic lesson that night, I found Rumple looking into a crystal ball. He was watching it with an expression most people would have watching their favorite comedy. When I got closer I saw why. The ball showed Hook, still a fish, ramming himself angrily against the glass while Emma and Regina tried to undo the spell. Emma was too furious to do anything and Regina was trying unsuccessfully to get her to control herself. 

“Not bad at all for your first attempt at magic, Dearie.” Rumple put a hand over his mouth trying to hold in the laughter. I honestly couldn't help letting out a laugh myself. “This form suits him, but what was in that made you think of a codfish anyway?”

“You know I really wasn't trying to do that.” Ok, so I wasn't as sorry about it as I might have been either.

“Part of you did, or else it wouldn't have happened. You may as well admit it. And focusing on your thoughts and feeling at that moment will be a starting point to helping you control your magic.”

“I was thinking of the movie version of what happened when the Darlings went to Neverland. Hook was called a codfish a lot in that one.” We both ended up laughing again. It didn't take long though to find out magic could be used for fun, but getting it right was serious business. 

I remembered Regina had said Rumple never coddled his students, and if they couldn't learn to swim, they drowned. I couldn't believe Rumple was that harsh of a teacher, not with how great he was with kids. It turned out Regina was not exaggerating. Long before the lesson was over, it was perfectly clear Rumple would not accept anything less than my best effort. If I wasn't giving that, he'd push me until I did.

I would have been angry with him for the first time, but I saw why any teacher of magic had to not allow mistakes. It would be all too easy to hurt or kill someone accidentally if magic were uncontrolled. If any magic were happening. I felt like a low rate idiot waving my arms in gestures that did nothing. Rumple was about half an inch from losing his temper himself. I must have been his most frustrating student ever.

“If you're going to keep blocking it, you're only wasting my time and yours” he finally said.

“I'm not! I just can't do this.”

“You know that isn't true. You're forcing yourself to think that because you don't want to believe you can.”

“Why wouldn't I want magic, if I have it?”

“That' the question you'll have to ask yourself. Once you know the answer to that and get past it, you can start to actually learn. In the meantime, it's just a question of when you'll be angry or frightened enough to use it again.”

I took a breath, Was I just not believing, or was I blocking the way Rumple said? OK, so why would I not want magic? Was I afraid of hurting someone? Yes, but there was more danger of that if I didn't learn. If Rumple was right, it was just part of me. Ok, so I had to think about that. I wanted magic. I had to want to believe I had it. 

“I think I'm ready to try again.”

“Good. Now remember, magic comes from both feeling and belief. What did you feel when you've done magic before? Focus on that.”

“The first time, I just wanted it so badly, if I worked the spell to bring me here. I wanted to be able to tell you Gideon's name and it was the only thing on my mind at the moment. And when I changed Hook, I wanted to stop him from saying things against you.”

“Now we're getting somewhere. You understand how much you have to want the magic to work.” Suddenly all the lights went out. It was darker than any night should have been.

“Hey! I can't do anything like this!”

“You want light? There's a candle on the table. Light it.”

“Very funny. Unless you want me accidentally lighting your home on fire, I don't think this is the best way to teach me.” He had to be kidding.

“You won't. My magic will prevent any damage you might do.” I felt him place the candle in my hand. “Now are you going to light it or are we going to stand here talking in the dark all night?”

I made a move with my hand, feeling stupid again. Sparks came from my fingers.

“Well, that's an improvement,” he said.

“Yeah, wonderful. I'm the human fireworks factory.” 

“At least you're accepting you have magic. Although it's still a long way from fire.”

Now I was starting to get angry with myself. Ok, I obviously did have magic. Why wouldn't the stupid power work? That candle was going to get lit one way or another. I tried again. More sparks. Nothing that would light a field of dead grass on the dryest day of the year. 

“You'll get it. In the meantime, I have work to do on the potion that will end the Evil Queen.”

Wait, what did he mean in the meantime?

“You're not just leaving me stuck in here? It's too dark for me to even guess which way the door might be and the room is full of things to trip over. What am I supposed to do if I can't light the candle? Crawl around the floor until I find the way out?”

“You're supposed to get the candle lit. You can do it. I'll be in the cellar working on the potion when you figure it out.” I heard a sound like wind rushing and thought for a moment I smelled smoke, telling me he'd disappeared.

“Rumple? Rumple get back here! I know you can hear me!”

Ok, I'm not afraid of the dark, but I did not like having no idea where to step or how to find the exit. There was no way the candle was getting lit with my oh so impressive sparkler power. I tried moving to the direction I thought the door was and almost tripped, and banged my leg into something. A step backwards, and my shoulder hit what I thought was the door. I tried to open it, but it must have been a cabinet or something. OK, I was getting the point the hard way. I needed to want the candle lit bad enough to really try, and I had to believe I could do it. He wasn't going to hold my hand and just keep reassuring me. I had to need it.

Once more the sparks flew, uselessly. I tried again, and this time I visualized the flame clearly, a small flicker just big enough to light the candle. I closed my hand, focused on needing the light to see, and moved my hand as if I were holding the flame out to the candle. Every thought in my head was of wanting that flame. Instead of sparks or a small flame, a ball of fire about the size of a baseball hurled itself to the candle. It must have been enchanted, because it gave far more light than an ordinary candle would once the flame died down to a normal sized flicker. The whole room was lit- and Rumple was standing in front of me, where he must have been the whole time.

I expected him to laugh. Had he thought it was funny, me stumbling around in the dark? But he didn't look like someone who'd thought my struggle was an amusing joke. Instead, he looked proud. He gave an approving nod of his head.

“Well done, Dearie.”


	17. Lost in Darkness

I couldn't be mad at how he'd gotten me to use my magic, not when I'd just done my first official, deliberate spell. Now that the mental wall was down, I wanted to keep using spells. I'm surprised I didn't wear Rumple out, wanting him to show me more and more things my magic could do now. It was like- like being crippled and finally being able to walk must be! There were no words, and I was more than a little carried away. I remembered watching The Miracle Worker, how once Helen realized the gift Anne was trying to give her, she kept wanting more and more information. I was like that now. I was a whirlwind, going from using one simple spell to the next, never satisfied.

“Maybe I can learn a transportation spell next! Or maybe you could show me a glamor spell. That's been useful so far. Or maybe-”

“Or maybe you're going to collapse if you don't stop. That's enough for today.” 

“What are you talking about? We've only been at this for-” I looked at my watch. What? It couldn't be two hours after we started. And of course now that Rumple mentioned it, I did feel like I was going to pass out. He conjured a chair and I sat down before I could fall down.

“Thanks. Why am I so wiped out?”

“Because you weren't thinking of the first rule of magic.”

I nodded and recited the phrase Rumple must have said a million times. “All magic comes with a price.”

“Indeed. In this case, energy from you. It's made worse by you still not being more in control. You can perform the spell, but you're using far more power than is needed for each one.”

It was a bit like starting to learn to drive, I supposed, overturning the wheel and overaccelerating accidentally.

“So how do I get better control?”

“Start with getting a grip on your emotions. You're doing better at that, but you've still got a lot to learn. Tonight, the best thing you can do is get a good night's sleep.”

“I don't think I could! This is- I mean how can anyone sleep thinking of how they can do all this?”

“I'll give you a mild sleeping potion then.”

I accepted the vial he handed me and told him “I can see why you would never want to give this up. It's already so- so uplifting. No that isn't the word. I mean- there are no words.”

His eyes met mine, and I understood how it must have affected him each time someone looked at his power as evil. How could anyone who had magic just give it up? It would be like giving up the ability to walk, literally in his case, or speak or see. Once it had become as much a part of a person as it was him, it must have be like giving up breathing. He seemed relieved to have someone understand. I remembered when Ingrid had been looking for magical sisters. How lonely did it have to feel to have something so incredible, and to have it seen as a bad thing? Not even Belle could understand what magic must mean to him. 

“I don't blame you for loving this. Anyone who felt what this is like would. And this must be just a small taste of what you have.” And yet- his power was not part of him, the way mine was of me.

“But?” he prompted.

“But what you have is from a curse. That's a bad thing by definition, isn't it? It's going to cause you even more pain eventually.”

Hurt and anger flashed across his face until I explained. 

“I'm not saying you should give up your power,” I added quickly. “I'd never do that. But the power of the Dark One, isn't that not really yours? And you're half Fae. I know you hate thinking of that, but doesn't that mean magic is part of you? You must have your own power. I think even without the curse, you'd have all the power you need. So why go through being cursed if there's a better way?” 

He shook his head. 

“If I had my own separate magic, Dearie, do you think I'd have spent the first part of my life being just the coward anyone could kick around?”

I groaned. 

“What is it going to take to convince you you've never been a coward? And magic comes from belief, right? If you were raised thinking you had no magic, it would be blocked like mine was, wouldn't it?”

He looked like he was debating the possibility, but this was a man who'd had any belief in himself crushed. 

“I think in my case, the magic skipped a generation.”

“I'm not so sure. You've been the Dark One for what, three hundred years? Has any other Dark One held on to the humanity in them this long?”

He thought about that.

“No. Some have lived longer, but the person they were before died inside them within fifty years or so at the most. Most of them didn't last more than a few months.”

A few months. And Rumple was still able to love so strongly after over three hundred years of being under that curse. 

“That has to be saying something about you. Even with a magical bloodline that's amazing. So whether it's Fae blood or extremely strong love, you have your own magic of some kind. You used magic to heal before. That comes from love. Dark magic wouldn't come from love would it?”

He was quiet a moment before answering.

“You're certainly determined to see the good in me, even believing I have light magic.”

“That's because someone pure evil couldn't love like you do. You have darkness in you, but everyone does, and the light you have in you is so strong you lasted all this time keeping the good in you, even being cursed. Is there maybe some way you could find out without giving up the curse first?”

“Perhaps,” he answered, considering the possibility. Maybe he really could have it all, freedom from the dagger, love, family, and magic.

“I'll make a deal with you,” I said, and he gave me a look.

“Everyone does sooner or later.”

“But this deal is good for you too. You work on finding out if you do have your own magic. I'm not even saying give up the curse, just find out if there's the chance. If you do, I'll keep taking magic lessons from you.”

He laughed. 

“You're not much at making deals. You want to learn magic, so you'd keep coming for lessons anyway.”

“I could have Regina teach me.”

“But you won't.”

He knew me too well. But he also knew I wasn't trying to force him to “be good,” that I really did just want him to both be free and have magic. I would never try to force him to give up magic.

“If there is a chance I can have both power and love, I'd want to take it. Being the Dark One has many perks, but it has a price. I almost paid the ultimate one, losing who I am once before when my heart darkened.”

I sighed. “The Dark One can't die, but Rumplestiltskin can. That's the only reason I brought it up. The real Rumplestiltskin is someone special. He's my friend, and I don't want to see that friend disappear.”

He smiled at being called my friend, and I was about to go home for some sleep when he stopped me.

“Lindsay? Suppose, even if there is a way to stop being the Dark One, I'm too cowardly to take it? If I'm afraid I won't be as strong without the Dark One as part of me?”

I didn't hesitate in my answer.

“Rumple I didn't wish to help you so bad it pulled me from my home and everyone I loved just to turn on you when things get bad. But I didn't come here just to see you hurt yourself either. As far as I'm concerned we'll always be friends, but that doesn't mean I won't tell you if I think you're being self destructive. And- I've heard the whispers that were going on today. Everyone thinks you're teaching me magic to trick me later, but I know you won't.”

“Really, Dearie?” he asked. “And how can you be so sure of that, considering tricking people seems to be what I do?”

“Because why trick someone who would help you willingly?” 

He still probably wondered how long before I would turn on him. Everyone else did. But if I was here to stay, I was here to help him. And that meant somehow, I had to help him realize he was more than what he believed.


	18. Healing

Lessons were continuing everyday, and there was a growing sense of urgency. So far I'd learned to shield, and a few clumsy blasting spells, besides getting pretty good with fire. The Evil Queen hadn't done anything in far too long. Separating the Charmings with a sleeping curse was not going to be enough for her. She wanted Henry. Rumple had used every protection charm possible to make sure she couldn't get her hands on him. Henry seemed to be just starting to accept that his grandfather loved him very much, enough where he'd been willing to die for him, and it was Henry who teamed up with me in my mission to help Rumple see he had power without being cursed, and that the curse wasn't what kept him from being a “coward.” 

When I came for my lesson, I heard them talking about Bae, with Rumple sharing memories of him when he'd been not much younger than Henry was. I went back out quietly and let them have a moment, waiting until Henry came out. He was smiling when he did.

“Operation Metamorphosis is going well,” he said. I grinned at the operation name. Metamorphosis. A change from something “ugly” into something new and beautiful. With reassurance and persistence, a change could be worked in Rumple, from relying on darkness to finding and believing in his own light. He didn't believe it yet, but I was sure he had magic of his own strong enough to rival any Dark One's power. Once he saw that, he could be free of his curse.

“Have a good talk?”

“Yeah. When I left I told him my Dad would be proud of him, and that he'd been really brave to do all he did for me. I also told him courage like that doesn't come from a curse.”

Henry might just make the difference with him. Just me and Belle caring about him would help, but when it came down to it, it would take more than Henry and even Gideon. He had to see the good qualities he had for himself. 

We would begin the lesson as always, with a few simple spells, working up to the harder things. But first, I had to ask if Rumple had made any progress with finding out if he had his own magic. He gave me a stern look when I asked.

“You and Henry have been working together on this.”

“We both want you to find out if you have your own magic,” I answered with a shrug. “And no, it isn't to use it. And it isn't to force you to give up being the Dark One. It's giving you an option to have it all, magic without a curse.”

He didn't answer, and redirected the conversation.

“Let's work on healing spells.” 

I saw a chance to keep him thinking about it.

“But as the Dark One, your magic is dark. Dark Magic can't heal, right?”

“Well apparently it can since I've used it to heal before.” I could tell that had him thinking though. Maybe he'd start taking the idea of having his own magic more seriously. “Follow me.”

I wondered how we were going to do this. How could I learn to heal if there were no injuries? He lead me to the back room, where a dog was laying injured. She looked like a mix of several breeds, mostly collie and other types of sheep dog. She immediately started wagging her tail when she saw Rumple and gave a whine. 

“Awe poor girl! What happened to her?” I knew Rumple wouldn't hurt an animal just to teach me.

“She was in a fight with some sort of wild animal from what we can guess. She was brought into the shelter just this afternoon. So far no one's claimed her.” I could see some bite wounds on her. Whoever she'd fought, they'd won. “I cut talking to Henry short so we can get to work. Let's see what we can do for her.”

“How?” My first instinct was to get some bandages and something to clean her wounds.

“Focus on each wound. Imagine it healing and the pain leaving her. Think about the stages of healing, and try to feel it as if her wounds were yours.” He waved a hand over her to demonstrate, and a gash by the side of her eye vanished. That took more than magic. It took compassion. Her tail wagged harder and she licked his hand in gratitude. I couldn't help smiling and Rumple noticed.

“What are you smiling at?”

“Rumplestiltskin, Dark One and dog lover. Nothing says evil like healing puppies.” 

“She's merely a tool to help you learn.” As he spoke he softly stroked the dog's head. Right. Terrifying evil person over here. He needed to stop being so determined to see the worst in himself. “Now focus and do as I showed you.”

I did, and working together we healed each wound. Healing should have been the hardest thing to learn so far, but somehow it was easier than other things I'd learned. Maybe I was just finally getting better at magic, or maybe it was just because I wanted to help the dog. I knew Rumple did too. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, he was already becoming attached to her. When the last bite was healed, she stood and surprised us both with a quick lick on the face. Rumple gave a warm laugh rather than the cold giggle associated with the Dark One.

“She was good about this whole thing. I never saw a hurt or sick animal lay still like that.”

“Well I couldn't have her whimpering and wriggling during your first try at healing. I gave her a potion so she wouldn't feel any pain.” I knew the truth. He didn't want her to hurt. 

“So, what happens to her now?”

“Oh, I suppose she may as well stay here as the shelter. I doubt anyone will claim her anyway.”

I grinned, and left Rumple petting the Gold family's newest member.


	19. Taking Action

I had a late shift at Granny's that day, and the Gold family were having their dinner at an outside table so their furry companion, now named Gellert or “Gertie,” could join them. I flinched when I came to the diner and saw what was on the menu.

“Um, Granny? Codfish is the special today?”

“Yup. Someone left a basket of codfish on the step today. Figured no sense in wasting good fish.”

Emma, princess of perfect timing, chose that moment to come up. She looked at the sign and a horrified look came over her face as Rumple lifted the menu over his face in an effort to hide his laughter.

“You didn't!” She was immediately on the phone checking if Hook was still in his tank. Apparently he was. She gave a sigh of relief and glared at Rumple. 

“Having Granny serve codfish isn't funny.”

“I agree. More like hilarious,” he answered.

I was laughing myself. It was silly that Hook was even still a fish. A kiss should have changed him back. So Emma was willing to go to literal Hell for him, but not kiss him if he was a fish? Or else that idea simply hadn't occurred to her yet. Either way, it was pretty funny. 

“Don't worry, Dearie. I wouldn't want anyone to choke on him. Besides, I'm not planning on being dragged to the Underworld to bring him back- again. If you've come to ask me to reverse the spell on him though, you're perfectly capable of doing that yourself,” Rumple told her.

“Actually I came to see how that potion to reunite the Evil Queen is coming. We need it soon. Henry was just attacked.” 

Rumple was instantly on his feet, looking as horrified as if Belle or Gideon had been hurt.

“Is he-” he started to ask.

“He isn't hurt, but she came close to taking him. The protection spells on him worked, but it's only a question of time before she breaks through them. Regina's with him now.”

I felt a rush of guilt. Rumple had precious few moments with his family, and now between teaching me and working on the potion he'd been spreading himself thin. What if teaching me cost him getting the potion made when he needed it? Rumple and Henry were only starting to become close, and I knew if anything happened to Henry, Rumple would be devastated. Luckily, he'd been busy enough with the potion that it was almost ready.

“What I have now is close to what I was going to use to kill Hyde. In theory, it should work, but I can't be certain yet of what affect it will have on Regina.” 

No one wanted to see Regina hurt, but how much longer could the Evil Queen be on the loose? Whatever had happened, Emma was shaken, and Regina must have been too if she was staying with Henry instead of doing something to stop her evil half. She must have thought the danger was too great to risk letting him out of her sight.

“There are a few more tests I can run, and then I say we try it. We find the Evil Queen, and one way or another we destroy her.”

Emma nodded, but I saw the uncertainty on her face. Regina was her friend, as much her family as Snow, David, and Henry. Whatever had happened to Henry, it had shaken both her and Regina enough that they were willing to do anything to take the Evil Queen down.

As they left, Belle moved to go with Rumple, but he turned and stopped her.

“Belle, I need you and Gideon to stay safe. The Evil Queen will be coming after us knowing we'll be working to stop her. If you and Gideon aren't with us, you'll be safer.”

“But I want to help,” she protested.

Rumple held her.

“Belle, please. Our son and I need you to stay safe. Promise me that you'll do as I ask.” 

It took her a moment, but she nodded. She wanted to help, but with a child who needed her, she had to keep safe. Not that that ever stopped any other mom on the show from putting herself in danger. Rumple knew Belle well enough to know she'd try to help no matter what. He took me aside a moment.

“I'm counting on you to make sure she doesn't end up putting herself in danger.”

Ok, what exactly was I supposed to do? 

“I can try keeping her occupied somehow, but if something happens there isn't much I can do.”

“You have magic, and you've been learning well. You can control fire, shield, heal, and cast a few useful spells to protect yourself and others.”

“Oh great if the Evil Queen turns up, I'll just wave my hands and call out Expecto Patronum and everything will be fixed.” Yes, I know that isn't how magic works in this world, but I was far from prepared to take on any real enemy.

“You'll be as protected as possible in the shop. Once the potion is ready, we'll be hunting down the Evil Queen. Everyone I care bout will be much safer if they aren't around when we find her.”

I knew I had to trust him, but could the Evil Queen already break through his protective spells? And if she could, could I do any good?


	20. Witch fight

I felt fairly safe in Rumple's shop, but I knew Cora had broken through the magical protection there before. I didn't doubt the Evil Queen could do the same. Belle was determined to do something useful, but there wasn't much that could be done. It was up to Rumple to get the potion to work. That didn't mean Belle wasn't going to search through everything in the shop for anything at all that might be useful.

I joined in the search, not sure what I was even looking for, and noticed a book laying in a trunk. I looked to see what it was, but there was no title listed anywhere. At least, I didn't think there was. There was something that might have been writing on the cover, but not in any language I recognized. That was when I noticed the pages were fake. When I opened the cover, I found the “book” was actually a hiding place for a bottle of something. It might have been any type of potion. Rumple owned a wide variety of magical objects I could only guess at. 

“Belle? Can you read this?” I asked, remembering she could read fairy.

She looked at the writing. “Yes. This is the ale from the legend of Shanay.”

“The ale that lets someone speak to the dead?” Did Rumple know that was there? The bottle was full and sealed. It was a large enough bottle to allow several conversations. Had it come over with the last curse that had returned everyone from Camelot? Had Rumple just not seen it yet because it came to Storybrooke more recently? I remembered Rumple being asked about the urn Elsa had come over in, and saying even he didn't know everything in his shop. If he had this, then he could talk to Bae again. 

Or would it be to painful for him, knowing Bae would never be alive in this world again? If he didn't know this bottle was here, maybe giving it to him would only make him hurt worse. I debated on whether or not to show it to him, but in the end, it would have to be his choice. He should at least know the chance to speak to Bae was there. What he did with that chance would be up to him. 

I was startled from my thoughts by someone coming into the shop. I jumped and turned to see Regina carrying a basket of apples. I gave a relieved sigh. 

“I take it you were expecting someone else?” she asked.

“Wasn't sure who to expect,” I answered. “How's Henry?” She flinched at his name.

“He's resting for now, but he'll be fine. Snow is with him. I thought I'd come help here in case the Evil Queen attacks while the others are looking for her.”

“Thanks,” I smiled. “Could always use the extra magic.” 

She sat the basket down and looked at Belle and I. “Care for a snack as long as we're here?”

Wait. Regina would know with the Evil Queen running amok that no one would take an apple from anyone who looked like her. And she'd left Henry in the hands of someone with no magic after the Evil Queen had tried to take him? 

“You're not Regina.” As soon as I said it her clothes transformed from a classy outfit a mayor would wear to a more intimidating gown meant for an evil queen.

“Clever girl. Now it's true I want Henry, but there's one tiny detail everyone seem to have forgotten. There's one other problem I have to deal with.” She put an emphasis on the word “deal.” “ My sister went missing, and there's only one person who wants to see her dead and has the power to kill her. Now he's taken my sister, and I plan to take someone he cares about.” Her eyes fell on Belle and Gideon.

“Belle take Gideon and get out of here!” I yelled and sent a blasting spell at the Queen. I couldn't do any real damage to her. I'd have to attack Regina to do that. But I could hopefully at least slow her down. Regina had ripped her heart out once. Magic could affect her, just not permanently. I needed to buy Belle and Gideon time to get out. Rumple would have nothing left if he lost them, and now Belle was my friend and I'd come to care about Gideon as if he was my little brother. 

My spell surprised the Evil Queen. Maybe she hadn't thought I could actually use magic effectively. Maybe she was shocked I was dumb enough to go against her. I might have magic, but she'd finished learning everything Rumple would teach her. I was just starting my lessons. I had no clue how evenly matched our powers were, but no matter how strong I might or might not be didn't matter. Without her experience and with her being unable to be harmed as long as Regina was alive, I couldn't take her. It was incredibly stupid to try, but I couldn't just do nothing. 

I was counting on the Evil Queen's shock letting Belle get away, but Belle looked determined to fight. She wasn't leaving. I looked at Gideon, and Belle got the message. She was always so determined to do the brave thing, but she had a child to think about now. She had to be there for him. And I was willing to bet if the Evil Queen knew Rumple had killed Zelena, she wasn't going to stop at killing Belle. She would make sure Rumple was left with nothing. Luckily Belle understood and made a run for it with Gideon. The Evil Queen looked like she was going to magically pull them back, so I did the most dangerous thing I could do to distract her.

“I killed Zelena!”

That got her attention. She turned to me. I was going to die! I was going to die! I was going to die! But she didn't attack just yet. 

“You? How could you have killed her. You'd have been no match for her.”

I stuck as close to the truth as I could without blaming Rumple.

“Simple enough to slip her a potion. It filled her mind with all her worst nightmares from the past, only intensified to the extreme. She died begging to be killed, and I did that by throwing water from the River of Souls on her. I stood there and watched her melt.” OK, so she'd spent some time as a statue in between and I didn't actually know if Rumple had already melted her or if she was still suffering as a statue. But telling her that did the trick. She was focused on me now an Belle was on her way to Rumple. 

She was focused on killing me. Crap! 

Ok, ok don't act afraid.

I took a step towards her, and as I did I cast flames around my clothes, making it look as if they were on fire they were so close. I could only keep control of that for a few seconds before letting the flames drop, but I hoped it was enough to make her think I was better at magic than what I was. As if she would be intimidated by me. Stepping closer to her was not the best idea. With a lunge, she reached for my heart- and pulled her fist back empty. I silently thanked Rumple again for making sure she couldn't remove or crush it. 

“Never bring your heart to a witch fight,” I taunted throwing her old line back at her. Wait, witch? Was that what I was now? Well, I did have magic, and nothing wrong with witches. Time to think on that later if I survived. 

Taunting her was not a good idea, but I didn't know how much more time Belle needed. As soon as she stopped to think instead of letting her anger get the best of her, the Evil Queen would know I couldn't have hurt Zelena on my own. Then she'd go after Belle again. My mission now was making her distraction from Belle and Gideon last as long as possible. She gave a snarl and hurled me backwards. I landed hard, but managed to not get hurt badly. No use attacking. Instead I blocked, trying to deflect the spells she was rapidly throwing at me. So far I didn't have anything broken or bleeding. Although if Belle could come back with Rumple anytime soon that would be great. 

The shop was already taking some damage, so a little more wouldn't hurt. Since I couldn't attack her directly I sent a simple blasting spell at the ceiling- which also happened to be the floor of my apartment but that should be able to be fixed with magic later. Plaster fell on her head, doing some damage but not enough to stop her. At least it slowed her, buying me some time. Maybe Regina had felt that and clicked the Evil Queen was in a fight. Maybe Belle had reached them by now. I hated the maybes, but they were all I had. 

Worse yet, the blocking, shielding, and blasting spells I kept using one after another now were draining me. I still had trouble controlling my magic enough to not use more power than necessary, and even if I had, I would probably have needed it all to hold my own with her. I saw the slight smirk on her face. She knew I was getting tired. Who was I kidding? I had no way to beat her, and there was no telling if help would come in time. I couldn't just do nothing though. I was determined to keep fighting, but even as I determined not to just let her win, the edges of my sight blurred and I felt lighter as everything started to sway.


	21. An end and a beginning

I was going to faint. Casting so many spells so close together was draining me fast. All magic came with a price. I took a step back, and I realized what I was backing towards, a secret panel that covered a hiding place where Rumple stored magic items. I'd seen him take potions and various devices from it during our magic lessons. More importantly, I knew the dagger was in there. If I opened it it, and I knew how because I'd seen him do it, all I had to do was grab it and I could summon Rumple to take down the Evil Queen. It would be easy. No matter where he was at the moment, whether Belle had already reached him or not, he wouldn't be able to help coming to me even if he wanted to.

He wouldn't be able to help it, no matter what he wanted. Of course, I didn't believe he'd just leave me to get killed. He'd never want that. But how would it feel to have no choice? How would I have felt to see someone holding an object that could control my every movement, no matter what they chose to do with it? I'd seen how he'd been controlled with it before, and the look on his face each time. Rumple was my friend, and I knew the trauma being controlled had put him through. And yet- he wouldn't want to see me dead. I took another step back as I cast a defensive spell. One quick move, and the panel would open and the dagger would be in my hand.

What would happen when I touched it? What would holding an object so evil do to me? What had it done to Rumple? He wasn't a killer. Even needing to kill to save Bae, he'd searched for a peaceful answer. Yet once he'd held that dagger, Zoso had been able to goad him into killing him. Was that because he'd been holding the dagger at the time? 

All magic came with a price. Even just holding the dagger and using it to summon Rumple would come at a high cost. And part of that cost would be the trust Rumple had placed in me, no matter what else happened. It wasn't betraying him exactly, but it would hurt him to know I was willing to use it. I couldn't pay that. I could keep the Evil Queen occupied until help came. I could do it, because I had to. 

I sent another spell her way, and it knocked her down. I felt like I'd just run a marathon on a hot day, but all I had to do was last a little longer. She cast a spell at me in return as soon as she was back on her feet. I went down. I wanted to stay down. Getting up would be just so hard. Staying down and letting my eyes close felt so good...

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I woke up in bed that was too firm and a pillow not soft enough to be my own. I felt like I was weighted down by something, like even blinking would be an effort. From somewhere in the dark I heard two voices. The first was firm, even angry, but whispering. The second was louder.

“You are not waking her up. Sleep is more important for her than checking her vitals right now.”

“It's standard hospital procedure.”

I knew those two voices, but it took me a moment to realize who they were. Why did the second one make me think of somebody with a flat head and bolts in his neck? The first one- was it someone I used to be scared of as a kid? Why would that be? I started slowly coming to, and knew the person with that voice would never hurt a child, or me.

“Well I'm awake now.” I yawned and slowly opened my eyes. I wished I hadn't. The light made my head hurt for a second. Rumple seemed to realize that and instantly the lights lowered without anyone touching a switch. 

“Thanks.” The last few moments before I'd fainted filled my mind. 

“Belle and Gideon are ok?”

“Yes,” Rumple answered. “Belle told me what was happening and I got to the shop in time. It must have been just after you went down.” 

“The Evil Queen?”

“Non- existent,” Rumple answered. “I made sure it wasn't a pleasant experience for her.” There was venom in his tone. So had the potion worked?

“Regina?” 

He took a breath, and from his expression I judged Regina was not happy.

“She's physically unharmed, but it was a lot to go through for her. She'll recover in time, but she knows she can't ever truly be free from her past.”

That couldn't be easy, but I knew trying to separate good and evil would never be truly possible. As I was thinking on that, Doctor Whale- or was Frankenstein more accurate?- came closer. A needle was in his hand. I cringed. I'd rather face the Evil Queen again than get stuck with a needle. They were my biggest phobia. 

“I just have to draw a blood sample for test-” A look from Rumple cut him off. He'd noticed my expression.

“Stick her with any more needles and I'm turning you into a porcupine.” 

“You would, too, wouldn't you?” the doctor said, and left the room. Rumple looked back at me, gratitude in his eyes.

“You could have fled. Or you could have let her attack Belle and Gideon. She probably wouldn't even have thought twice about you. But Belle said you taunted her and made her focus on you.”

I shrugged. “I figured I had a chance. At least I could buy time for them to get away and find you.”

He was silent a long moment before he spoke again.

“And you were inches away from where the dagger was hidden. You've seen it there. You could have grabbed it and summoned me.”

I shook my head. “I thought about it,” I admitted. “But I didn't want to touch something like that. It would have let me take away any choice you had if I used it. That kind of power- I don't ever want to be able to use something like that.” 

He pulled the dagger out from under his jacket.

“I've never hid the real dagger there. The one you saw was a fake. I couldn't risk anyone having a chance to use the real thing. But you didn't know that. And you wouldn't have used it, even if you'd had the chance.”

“I'm not Zelena,” I said quietly. The way she'd controlled him made me want to puke.

“No, you're not. And you did better against the Evil Queen than most people would have.”

I actually chuckled. “Not good enough to not pass out.”

“Still, you stood up to her.”

“Wouldn't have made much difference either way. If I was going to get killed by her either way, I might as well fight back.” He smiled, and that was when I remembered something. 

“Rumple, before she showed up I found a bottle of the ale that let's people speak to the dead.”

“I saw it,” he said. “I hadn't known it was there. Apparently the curse Miss Swan cast to bring everyone back from Camelot brought a few things with it. I didn't have the chance to look between being unconscious, put through hero training,” there was sarcasm in his voice at that, “being dragged to the Underworld and everything else.” He didn't say if he planned to use it, and I didn't ask, but he added “Thank you.”

“I hope it helps.” 

He looked like he wanted to say something else, and finally spoke.

“The potion I'd made wouldn't have worked on it's own. It couldn't have reunited Regina and the Evil Queen. I'd used dark magic of course. Dark and light magic had to be used together.” He paused a moment. “I was able to use light magic to finish the potion. It was the combination that made it work.”

I'd figured he could use light magic for so long it took a moment for it to sink it. He'd used light magic! For a moment, however brief, he'd believed in what I said about him and found a taste of his own true power, not the power of the Dark One.

“That's great!” I beamed. “They'll be calling you the Light One yet,” I added teasing, and had to laugh at the look he gave me. “Just kidding. Told you the only reason I hope you give up the curse is because being cursed has to be a bad thing for you.” And now, he'd taken a step towards realizing he didn't need that. Not yet, but maybe someday he could give up the curse for good. Someday, he could find his way back to being just himself, the real Rumple beneath the Dark One, and have confidence in his own powers. I believed he could do it. I was torn from my thoughts by a yawn.

“You'd better get back to sleep, Dearie.”

I nodded, and closed my eyes. I'd always had trouble falling asleep, but now sleep seemed to come easy. I wasn't sure if I was just that tired, or if Rumple had waved his hand over me and helped me sleep the way he had Henry once. I must have slept a long time, because I felt well rested when I woke up. Rumple, Belle, and Gideon were in the room watching over me.  
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Rumple acted like an overprotective father for the first few days after I was out of the hospital, but I was fine after a good rest. I went back to work at Granny's, and after Rumple was sure I was up for it I continued my magic lessons. I still used the mirror to look back on my old life, and saw that my loved ones were happy.

I wasn't the only one to check in on family. I was sure Rumple used the ale to talk to Bae, but I never asked what they talked about. Those were private moments between the two of them. A couple times he was seen leaving the cemetery, sometimes alone, sometimes with Henry, and sometimes with Gideon. I was sure Bae got to meet his little brother.

There would be other villains and curses. That was normal life in Storybrooke. I knew they would be coming, but my magic was progressing. I would be able to take part in things when the time came. In the meantime, I enjoyed the closeness I felt with the Golds, and pondered when Emma would finally break the spell on Killian. For some reason she didn't like it when I suggested filling his tank with rum to make him happy. Hey, there are pickled herring, so why not pickled codfish? I was almost looking forward to when the spell on him would be broken. I couldn't wait to let him know his fans were called Hookers, and whether or not I cast a spell on him ever again it would be fun knowing he'd know I could. I was going to have a lot of fun with that.


End file.
